The non conformer's Canadian Weblog

July 26, 2013

Canada’s hogs get richer at the Citizens expense

MONTREAL – As Montrealers fumed about fare hikes and repeated métro breakdowns, several of the Société de transport de Montréal’s top managers were enjoying big pay raises last year. The salaries of 12 top STM managers jumped by more than 10 per cent in 2012 compared with 2011, according to a Gazette analysis based on information obtained under access-to-information. The data pertain to the STM’s “extended executive committee” — the agency’s 40 or so highest-paid employees. Salaries range between $120,000 and almost $300,000. In 2012, the average annual pay in this group jumped by 5.6 per cent or $9,200, increasing the average annual salary to $173,000. During the same period, the salaries of Montreal bus and métro drivers increased by two per cent. The average Canadian saw a salary increase of 2.8 per cent in 2012, according to Statistics Canada.  http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/managers+raises/8703628/story.html

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You know why these big execs all who rather should have been fired they did not care about the  Metro Breakdowns? they likely too their cars to work, and could afford the parking downtown too ehh..  and how many Managers also go useless pay raises elsewhere now too?

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MONTREAL — For years, Canada was regarded by international experts as one of the most protected and most expensive wireless markets in the world. Canadian consumers weren’t well served by mobile operators and that only began to change a few years ago when new entrants like Videotron and others came in and the market became more competitive.  Now, the federal government wants to continue the push toward greater competition and choice by auctioning off additional spectrum in September to attract a new player. From the perspective of consumers, what could be wrong with that?  http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Peter+Hadekel+Bell+wireless+arguments+against+Verizon+ring/8709258/story.html

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Well if you are Bell, Rogers, Telus, etc.. everything is wrong.. as they can never have enough money for a start..  Bell is one of Canada’s most hated Corporations still even because it too often abuses it’s customers still..

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You did notice that CTV News support Bell, BCE here? oh I forgot Bell owns CTV…

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see

https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/major-canadian-telecommunications-firms-still-unacceptably-tend-to-lie/

https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/about-time-big-3-put-into-their-place-bell-rogers-and-telus/

PS   NOW STEPHEN HARPER GET OFF THE BOOZE AND LOOK AFTER THE GOOD WELFARE OF ALL CANADIANS

https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/canada%e2%80%99s-prime-minister-stephen-harper-is-not-a-real-evangelical-christian/

July 21, 2010

Bell is still undeniable guilty of bait and switch, false misleading trade, advertising practices.

 
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Choose Bell and get more value from your TV service. Digital television you can count on. The best HD. Stunning picture quality . Over 100 HD channels, the best receivers. A free Free HD PVR & digital receiver for three years. How well our services perform is as important to us as it is to you is a blatant lie. Faster interent download speeds and the fastest uploads .The largest fibre optic network in Canada is not available in all parts of Canada firstly. Supposedly Reliable access with proactive speed monitoring and optimization and of course the capping of your downloads is included, so are the too often disconnects. When you choose Bell Internet, you get free wireless home networking, security features, and a complete and customized installation, all on the most advanced fibre optic network in Canada but certainly not in the world. It gives you faster download speeds up to 25 Mbps and the fastest upload speed in the market – up to 7 Mbps. Note the term up to, does not mean a minimum speed still but only a potential maximum speed at Bell’s origin and certainly not at your place. The serious degradation of the speed at your place is a fact now too.
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  Bell was and is a king in misleading others. When Bell advertise something is free, it is not free forever, or when Bell advertise a very low price, it is generally always too good to be true, for what Bell gives with one hand it soon takes away with the other hand.. Bell’s fixed contracts are a one way deal, fixed for Bell’s purposes only. Readily and often changed to suit Bell’s purposes mostly and changed without the customer’s prior approval now too. It is what Bell does not tell you that also now counts and can be really negative upon you and your Bell services.. Their support services are undeniably too often really bad when you need them. But we all seem to know next the hard way that you cannot believe what you hear and read these days especially in advertising, or even in the news or from Ottawa too.

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I guess the Canadian federal and provincial governments do still feel, do even demonstrate by doing nothing good about it  that the Canadian citizens are here to be taken advantage off, to be abused daily even by their allowing the false misleading, corrupt business practices like that of the Canadian Bell. Mind you we do often also know already that when others lie like Bell does Bell itself does not hesitate to complain about it.
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ONCE A BAD GUY, ALWAYS A BAD GUY IT SEEMS.. OTTAWA – The federal cabinet has been asked to referee an increasingly nasty, litigious dispute between Telus Corp. (TSX:T) and Bell Canada (TSX:BCE) over a $213-million Defence Department telecom contract. At one point in late 2008, Telus accused its competitor of deliberately sabotaging the changeover, an accusation Bell denied. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100804/business/bell_telus_battle

 

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” Technology Bell Canada takes heat from clients for limiting online speedFile-sharing customers fire up complaints as giant extends limit to resellers Roberto Rocha , The Gazette Published: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 “Hands off my Internet” is the message Bell Canada is hearing from Canadians this week and last. Alarmed by the company’s decision to limit Internet speeds when using file-sharing programs, customers are treating Bell to a public relations storm, and asking the government to intervene if necessary. The issue is what is known as “traffic shaping” or “throttling,” the slowing down of Internet speeds for certain types of data. Bell Sympatico said last November that it slows the service of people who share files on peer-to-peer networks like BitTorrent and LimeWire. But the final straw for Internet activists came last week, when Bell said it will do the same for Internet providers that resell Bell’s service under another brand. “It’s certain that it disturbs us a lot. We’re talking millions of people that will be affected (in Canada),” said Jean-Philippe   que, president of ElectronicBox, a Bell Internet reseller in Montreal. “We don’t know what technology Bell is using to throttle. We’re wondering if our other services, like Internet telephony, will be affected,” he said. Now   other third-party resellers have hundreds of Canadians rushing to their defence, gathering on Facebook groups decrying Bell and writing letters to the CRTC, to the Competition Bureau and to Industry minister Jim Prentice. One of these is Steve Anderson, a masters student at Simon Fraser University and co-ordinator of Campaign for Democratic Media, an association of lobby groups. “Our main goal is to raise awareness. When people know that Internet providers are trying to shape what applications they can use, they’re naturally appalled and take action on their own accord,” Anderson said. His Stop the Throttler Facebook group, marked by a malicious-looking beaver chewing through a phone cable, had 535 members as of yesterday. Another group, Stop Bell From Throttling DSL Resellers, has more than 1,000 members sharing news items and tales of contempt for Bell. “Throttling without telling customers is just bad PR,”In the U.S., peer-to-peer throttling is a major issue that is receiving Congressional attention. A bill was introduced in February in the House of Representatives to order the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to investigate the practice. In Canada, the topic of so-called Net neutrality has not reached household status. However, observers like Ottawa law professor Michael Geist, believe Bell’s actions will intensify the debate The CRTC, which is also a target of letter writers, said this week it had not received any complaints. Regardless of the intention, third-party resellers like Béïque fear this tactic will backfire for Bell and its partners. “There will be people who will migrate to other technologies, like cable,” he said. ” http://www.canada.com/topics/technology/story.html?id=6d34774f-e392-41b8…

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see also

https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/bell-canada-recently-is-so-ready-to-sue-others-first-needs-to-sue-itself/

https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/the-big-bad-crtc-approves-new-bell-internet-billing-rates-increase/

https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/so-much-for-any-promised-consumer-protecton/

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May 7, 2010

The big bad CRTC Approves New Bell Internet Billing Rates Increase

The big bad  CRTC Approves New Bell Internet Billing Rates Increase, Plans.
 
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has approved a plan to bill Internet customers by the gigabyte. Bell Canada and Bell Aliant can now charge both retail and wholesale customers based on how much they download each month. The plan, known as usage-based billing, will apply to people who buy their internet connection from Bell, or from smaller service providers that rent lines from the company, such as Teksavvy or Acanac. The CRTC also approved an additional speed option. The CRTC is letting the service providers introduce the pricing plan to its customers, called usage-based billing, whether a customer gets Internet access from Bell or from smaller companies that get their access through Bell’s lines. Some Internet Service Providers that get wholesale services from Bell had opposed the plan, initially presented last fall, saying they could not differentiate their product offerings from Bell’s under such a scheme. The CRTC noted that it also received a number of individual comments, mostly opposed to the proposal. Usage-based billing is seen by providers like Bell as one way to control or manage demand on their networks, often caused by heavy downloading or so-called P2P traffic. For more information, visit http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2010/2010-255.htm 
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Why  are the prices always going up for Bell and the customers instead of down overtime? The CRTC clearly is either incompetent or corrupt. We’d like to be billed in accordance with the contract that we had signed with Bell. Didn’t realize that Bell  could just change the terms of a contract any old time Bell  wanted. It does not take a genius to know that the CRTC have given Bell a license to steal more money from the consumers, customers and Bell providing very little in return back to the customer, Bell still provides lying,  lousy customer services, including the slow down of email and their capping of the downloads too.. Computers, networking hardware, all the tech stuff needed to get the Internet to your door gets cheaper every day…. Hard drives used to be thousands of dollars for 5 megabytes…. now they are pennies on the gigabyte(1000 megabytes)…. Yet Rogers and Bell seem to keep on raising the prices…. they are greedy for a start.
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SEE ALSO
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/crtc-farcical-hearings-on-internet-speed-control/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/just-cause-you-got-a-smartphone/
 
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/insuring-adequate-consumer-protection/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/why-many-businesses-fail
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/deceptive-unacceptable-unfair-business-trade-practices-unreliable-internet-access
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/06/14/class-action-suit-against-bell-sympatico
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/12/18/unfair
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/04/20/bell-internet
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/06/14/buyer-beware-beware
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/crtc-farcical-hearings-on-internet-speed-control
http://anyonecare.wordpress.com/2008/05/23/bell-bce-sympatico
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/05/01/is-your-isp-still-even-watching-you
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/the-war-against-bell
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/bell-throttles-internet-speeds
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/04/26/and
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/04/15/consumers-affairs
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/04/19/bell-lied
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/07/15/i-cannot-trust-you-for-you-lie-to-me-all-the-time
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/04/27/basic-contract-law
http://witnessed.wordpress.com/2008/07/29/this-next-was-so-predictable-even-by-me-too
http://postedat.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/pay-back-revenge/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/federal-consumer-protection-ha-ha-ha/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/crtc-is-clearly-in-bells-bad-pocket/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/09/02/commissioner-for-complaints-for-telecommunications-services/

April 19, 2010

Just cause you got a Smartphone

MANUFACTURERS TO launch A NEW PHONE   by Christmas?  or their new tablet and likley touch screen against the ipad.. don’t you hate it when you just spend loads of money for a new gadget it is already ready to become shortly obsolete again too.
   

“Buying a phone is becoming harder and harder these days. There are so many different options on smartphones that it is hard to keep up with all the latest technology. With phones and tablets almost completely relying on touchscreen interfaces, the screens on these devices are easily the most important part of modern day devices. There are several different technologies behind these screens, and we aim to explain what some of these terms mean. If you’ve ever wondered what AMOLED, LCD, IPS, or TFT mean, you’re reading the right article.
These days you really only have two choices of screens when you are buying a smartphone or tablet, LCD or AMOLED. Many of you probably can’t tell the difference between the two screen types, but both technologies have inherent strengths and weaknesses. LCD has been around for a while, but AMOLED phones are gaining popularity thanks to Samsung and other manufacturers. There isn’t a clear winner at this point in time
 
The smartphones demand  has clearly surged, but they use as much as 30 times as much bandwidth as regular mobile phones to run the applications, or “apps,” that make them so popular. This  surge in traffic triggered by video and other apps has led to more dropped calls and choppy service. As video on smartphones becomes more popular, it is leading to more congestion, and forcing the reluctant carriers to spend billions to upgrade their antiquated networks and also to  buy more wireless spectrum. Kind explains why Bell also had to dishonestly cap the regular downloads capabilities on it’s networks to make way for the smart phones. And why Apple’s phones, ipods  are reluctant to  to use video, cameras ..  Just cause you got a Smartphone does not mean it is going to work properly. 
 
 
Now if a user is asked to choose between an tablet and a netbook, the tablet isn’t an adequate substitute and as smartphones become more powerful, and move closer to PCs, the need for a tablet is greatly reduced.
 
The iPad Cons
-There isn’t a camera , there’s no  Skype, with all of that power there is no camera on this device.
-No on board memory card support. You must purchase an optional adapter.
-The iPad will have many books to download and also other cool apps, but what if I want to listen to some music on Pandora, while I read, or work on my iPad I can’t. With all the crazy things I mentioned before about all the powerful things  it is quipped with, those powerful components  run hand and hand with the current iPhone OS (Version 3.2). Therefore even on the iPad you can do no multi-tasking at all. I believe it’s a big setback for the device.
-The battery’s life is great as we spoke about, but if the battery dies completely there’s no way of getting at it to replace, its built in.
iPad does not come with Flash.  http://www.techtremor.com/2010/04/15/ipad-pros-and-cons/
 
Adobe CEO states Flash is coming to Android, Blackberry and WebOS. So video  it is already presenting a big challenge to networks.  “If you think that today’s 3G as a browsing experience is a challenge to these data networks, imagine what a video streaming or download experience is going to be as these screens start to look like HD televisions in terms of resolutions.” There is some amazing technologies for compressing everything from web content, documents, and video but all that in reality is still a long way off.
    
By the way for all those Hollywood companies complaining that their films are being stolen, pirated by others, on the internet before I would even bother to listen to their complaints, I would like to have them all fully reviewed for their too often known, numerous  tax evasions firstly.
 
Want to read more?
 
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/apple-vs-google-adobe/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/the-best-iphone-to-buy-or-to-use/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/hanging-up-on-early-exit-fees/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/bell-canada-recently-is-so-ready-to-sue-others-first-needs-to-sue-itself/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/bittorrent-p2p-sites/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/bell-throttles-internet-speeds/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/bell-and-telus-unrealistic-management-expectations/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/iphone-palm-phone-rush/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/06/14/buyer-beware-beware/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/bells-lies-vs-reality-again/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/the-new-still-sad-unacceptable-reality/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/09/02/commissioner-for-complaints-for-telecommunications-services/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/04/27/basic-contract-law/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/crtc-farcical-hearings-on-internet-speed-control/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/public-mobile-files-suit-against-globalive-decision-supported-by-bell-rogers-telus-too/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/phone-companies-internet-at-disadvantage/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/bells-lies-vs-reality-again/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/07/15/i-cannot-trust-you-for-you-lie-to-me-all-the-time/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/crtc-is-clearly-in-bells-bad-pocket/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/deceptive-unacceptable-unfair-business-trade-practices-unreliable-internet-access/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/about-time-big-3-put-into-their-place-bell-rogers-and-telus/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/so-much-for-any-promised-consumer-protecton/
Bell is a large organization that lacks willingness to connect with its customes but doe snot hesitate  to abuse them http://drizgroup.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/bell-canada-decommissions-dns-servers-without-notifying-its-business-customers

THE RELEASE of the Apple  Iphone 3GS has sparked a wave  on the world wide web lately.  As SFGate hack Mark Morford points out, people have suddenly stopped moaning about the fact that the phone lacks a microSD card reader, enterprise capabilities, support for multiple codecs, background processing and a real time GPS, and that it’s slow syncing and has pathetic video upload, a pants camera and a silly single-core processor. Instead TOO MANY FALSE spin stories about the Iphone 3GS “being perfect” have started to become currency. No product however good it is has ever been perfect. The fact that people can say such nonsense is part of the reason I think that the Apple media control machine is worse than any atrocity that Microsoft or Intel ever dreamed up.  The Apple dream is one where ‘perfection’ is defined for you. You buy a slice of that perfection every time you buy a product. It will be perfect until the upgrade comes out and you will have to keep buying or you will not be perfect. This bizarre relationship only exists with Apple and its fans. Microsoft users expect the Vole’s products to go wrong, it is like a running joke. Linux is based on the idea that if something goes wrong the user might be able to fix it. And lots of people have been reporting that their smartphones seem to get too warm if you run GPS stuff on   them.  Moaning that Google will not provide Apple users with its products while at the same time claiming the Apple version is perfect and original really shows up the psychological flaws in most fanboys’ argument. If Safari is so good and perfect why would you want Chrome?  Reality Apple is never perfect..  Apple is a minority operating system. It is bigger in the US, which is a country famous for having more money than sense, and even there only five percent of people use it.   Apple fanboys need to wake up to the fact that they are solidly in the minority and any action from a major IT company to provide them with software and services for their bizarrely obscure proprietary operating system is done out of indulgent charity rather than from any compelling business case.  http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/opinion/1564244/apple-fans-whinge-google-ignores   http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/opinion/1356991/the-iphone-3gs-perfect

February 1, 2010

Apple vs Google, Adobe

 

Once sworn friends and now sworn enemies..  First Google announced their Android mobile software (direct threat to the iPhone), then GOOG announced a new web browser (direct threat to Safari), then a shocking announcement of a new Chrome operating system (direct threat to OS X), then came a rejection of Google Voice from the iPhone app store, and finally the resignation of Google CEO Eric Schmidt from Apple’s board.  Obviously Android has tremendous appeal. It is an open operating system with third party application development without Apple’s tightly monitored app approval process. Plus, Android’s ability to operate many mobile devices will be a direct threat to Apple’s mobile market share. App developers could simply grow weary of Apple’s obsessive regulations and start coding for a different platform. That is entirely possible with some of the iPhone’s app stores many developer problems.  http://dandriffill.com/2009/08/19/apple-vs-google/

As usual Apple likes to convey the image it is number one, even if it is clearly not, it is number one in certain limited  areas only, MS computers still rule the waves.. so does Google 

Google music services compete with I tunes. So does Google android phones, Google chrome browser, Googles you tube all commpete with Apple, and Google Chrome OS is a viable alternative to Mac OS.. Google seemed to have  to realized now  it does not need Apple realtionships at all ..

and so now Apple chief Steve Jobs has lately come out swinging , reacting to the release of Google’s Nexus One, which has apparently angered him by being now fairly cool, and by actually having a decent reception – unlike a certain apple iPad. Google  “They entered the phone business. Make no mistake they want to kill the iPhone. We won’t let them. This don’t be evil crap: It’s bullshit.” yeah and ‘How dare someone else try and sell a phone'” especialy a very decent one . https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/the-best-iphone-to-buy-or-to-use/

Flash has all the advantages any entrenched technology enjoys and remains the standard multimedia language for a vast majority of developers and programmers. The new iPad would not display videos, animations or any other features created using Flash, a type of multimedia software made by Adobe. Flash is one of the world’s most prolific  applications, appearing on 98 percent of all computers. YouTube videos run on it. It is what animates millions of graphics and advertisements on Web sites around the world. Adobe says the technology supports nearly 75 percent of video on the Web and 70 percent of online gaming sites.  Flash would not be used on the iPhone. Apple has argued that the Flash technology is too slow and unduly taxes laptops and netbooks. The company also has concerns over Flash’s vulnerability to viruses and other malware, as well as the way Flash-based content can voraciously consume battery life.. but what about the real monetary concerns? Adobe, said Apple’s opposition was a way for the Apple gouging company to control its iTunes system. “I think it’s pretty clear that Apple wants to regain control of the content consumers see online and the content Apple offers for their devices,” Many persons also do maintain  it is impossible for Apple to maintain a walled garden around the content and advertising people consume on the iPad.  The same  Jobs once again threw  a couple of insults against Adove too. “They (Adobe) have all this potential to do interesting things but they just refuse to do it. They don’t do anything with the approaches that Apple is taking, like Carbon. Apple does not support Flash because it is so buggy”, he is reported as saying. “Whenever a Mac crashes more often than not it’s because of Flash. No one will be using Flash”. Sadly there are constant updates required for Adobe flash, which do slow down your computer if you do not install them too..

December 15, 2009

About time Big 3 put into their place-Bell, Rogers and Telus

How come Canadians, Canadian firms  still have to be fined by the US or UK government for their wrong doings and not by  their own Canadian Government firstly now too often too. Remember the Canadian Conrad Black sitting in a US jail? https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/the-canadian-way-of-doing-business/
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How about this… https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/bell-shaw-and-rogers-still-cant-seem-to-provide-good-customer-services-why/
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 Chairman Anthony Lacavera unveiled the company’s pricing plans, which range from $15 to $45. He said the plans represent a normalization with what’s found in the rest of the world, where there are no fees for system access, 911 or activation. The plans also offer customers free caller ID, call forward and unlimited Wind-to-Wind calling across the country. The more expensive plans, at $35 and $45, include unlimited local and province-wide calling, with the top-end plan offering unlimited Canada-wide calls. Data plans range between $10 for access to instant messaging, Facebook and MySpace, to $55 for USB laptop sticks. Wind appears to have introduced domestic roaming charges. Wind customers will have to pay 25 cents a minute for calls outside of their home zones http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/091216/canada/technology_wind_mobile_cellphone_launch
 
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/public-mobile-files-suit-against-globalive-decision-supported-by-bell-rogers-telus-too/  And speaking of Crap my Bell internet mail has not been working properly the last week still too.. and here is more crap
 
COMMUNICATE ON CANADA’S MOST RELIABLE NETWORK   – BELL.  As I saw THIS today in a BELL depot this is still an unacceptable false, misleading, lie   for Bell has  the total largest number of unhappy, dissatisfied network customers in Canada, and such false Bell advertising lies lead to more unrealistic, dissatisfied, unfulfilled  customers expectations.
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 I GUESS OUR GOVERNMENTS, and our CIVIL AND PUBLIC SERVANTS, MINISTERS, CONSUMER AFFAIRS  ALL DO ALLOW FALSELY SUCH LIES ONGOING CAUSE THEY TOO ARE BIG LIARS? BELL HAS BEEN LYING FOR YEARS ON THIS NOW TOO.
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IT IS AN UNDENIABLE FACT THAT CABLE NETWORKS ARE MORE RELIABLE OVER BELL’S NETWORK AND IS, WAS THE REASONS MANY BELL CUSTOMERS SWITCHED OVER TO SHAW, VIDEOTRON, ETC., AND IS CLEARLY WHY BELL HAS TO LIE TO TRY TO WIN THEM ALSO BACK.
 
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Which reminds me my Bell internet services is still disastrous, unreliable, I have connectivity problems even as of lately periodically when I have no downloads even, I have email sending problems as well.. and what Bell does not know how to fix this still and it wants more money? dream on..
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WHAT REAL RELIABLE DATA ALSO DO THEY Bell they now HAVE TO SUPPORT THE TERM MOST RELIABLE NOW.. BY THE ACTUAL THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS? OR IS THIS THEIR OWN SELF ANALYSIS, OR A PAID SPIN DOCTOR. I can easily prove it has loads of dissatisfied network customers.

False misleading advertising has long time been made by Telus, Rogers, Bell and others in Canada whole the Ostrich federal consumer department, government did nothing.. I even wrote to you about THIS ISSUE  too and what it takes STILL  the courts to deal with everything now, AND so why do we need the  government ?

https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/about-time-big-3-put-into-their-place-bell-rogers-and-telus/ 

http://www.complaints.com/2006/january/8/Poor_quality_of_Sympatico_internet_service_3625.htm

http://www.complaints.com/2008/february/14/Alexander_Would_Roll_Over_In_His_Grave__161456.htm

Are you having problems with your ISP too?  Bell Sympatico complaints

I have openly rightfully shared with the Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper’s office that Bell Sympatico undeniably is one of the most dirty, immoral, abusive Corporation, firm I have dealt in Canada in my lifetime. One that even falsely suppressed my complaints against it, my right of free speech as well. Because Bell Sympatico has UNACCEPTABLY TOO often HAD breached my ISP contractual agreement and NEXT Bell Sympatico had forcibly falsely disconnected my ISP service with them too thus next I have been forced to switch over to the Canadian www.acanac.ca/ -Residential High Speed ADSL without any Limits and No Blocked Ports or Traffic Shapping, plus Unlimited Downloading 100 GB of Online Storage Up to 5 Mbps Download and 800 Kbps Upload $18.95 per month This offer is available on a 1 year term and the first year of service. www.acanac.ca/Webhosting.html Call Tel: 1-866-281-3538 , 1-416-849-8520 On top of that I repeatedly do ask why Bell is now so expensive in comparisons to it’s competitor that uses the same TROUBLED EVEN Bell internet lines..( Acanac is an independent subcontractor of Bell so Bell will still cap the bitterest downloads during peak hours, something Bell does not readily advertise to all customers. But Acanac offers a solution to this community.acanac.com Forum Index » Common DSL Problems » Official workaround to the Bell throttle: Utorrent )

Here is 2  very popular past helpful posts of mine you may find useful to consumers.. Many Consumers do not know  how to choose firstly an ISP provider, and what their options are too.
a: http://thenonconformer.blogspot.com/2007/10/choosing-cable-or-dsl-internet-service.html 
b: https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/04/27/basic-contract-law/
  
The pretentious new conservative federal government also now has   known about the much too  many customer abuses, false misleading advertising by the big three , Rogers,  Bell and TELUS since it came into office and now next  had they been willing they could have done more about it.. including the fderal  consumer affairs department, CRTC as well,.  Most Canadian government bureaucracy still do a pretentious job, they do a minimum token job, just pretending to d something so they can’t get fired and still get paid for it too.  Consumers also now have to take part of the blame for their own inactions, they have not cried out loud enough for all to hear, have no demanded forcibly that all these crooks be punished, dealt with now as well. Wel I certainly do!  I guess PM Stephen  Harper’s mostly lying past promises of accountability and transparency does not apply to the fderal  civil and public servants, RCMP and consumer affairs inluded now..
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Quebec to end automatic cellphone contract renewals, surprise fees CBC.ca –  The Quebec government has tabled legislation to better protect consumers in the province when they sign cellphone contracts. Justice Minister Kathleen Weil said laws aimed at protecting cellphone users were written in the early 1970s and don’t address current consumer habits. She said Bill 60, introduced Tuesday, would revise outdated rules. There can be “very onerous penalty fees” to pull out of a contract once a service provider automatically renews it — usually for a period lasting three years, Weil said. The bill would prohibit the renewal of cellphone contracts without a customer’s written approval, she said.  It would also force merchants to disclose the total cost of the goods and services offered, a move Weil said should prevent customers from being caught off guard by hefty fees for services they don’t want, such as text messaging. In addition, companies won’t be able to suddenly increase fees during the life of the contract. “Consumers often don’t understand everything that they have agreed to when they’ve signed that contract,” the minister said. “The contracts are a little vague, and there are services that are added over time without their knowledge and without their consent.” “The first thing that [merchants] do is offer you a free cellphone, and it’s sort of the lure that gets you into that relationship,” Weil told reporters. Merchants will have to explain existing warranty protection Weil said the new law would make it illegal for merchants to sell extended warranties before telling customers what the manufacturer already offers for warranty protection. It would also put an end to expiry dates on prepaid cellphone gift cards. The minister said the bill, amending the province’s Consumer Protection Act, would correct an imbalance in an evolving industry. “In consumer protection you often have an imbalance that happens over time and in the whole field of telecommunications. There is not a jurisdiction in North America that hasn’t noticed this imbalance.” Michel Arnold, head of the non-profit consumer rights group Option consommateurs, said Quebec is the first jurisdiction  in the country to introduce this kind of consumer protection. Weil said officials in the province receive nearly 700 formal complaints about cell phone contracts each year — about 10 per cent of all consumer complaints — as well as thousands of inquiries. Bill 60 is expected to be adopted before the end of the year…    and what about in the rest of Canada too?
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It costs a cellphone company a mere third of a cent to transmit a text message that it charges customers as much as 15 cents to send, estimates a University of Waterloo professor. http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/06/18/tech-text-message-pricing-keshav-cellphone.html
Also see
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/06/14/buyer-beware-beware/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/04/27/basic-contract-law/
 https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/the-canadian-way-of-doing-business/
lies, the too common acts of civil and public servants, consumer affairs, justice ministers, lawyers, politicians and business persons, pastors too.. https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/the-canadian-way-of-doing-business/
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BC mom warns consumers of changing cellphone contracts that could rack up costs Winnipeg Free Press –  VANCOUVER, BC – A British Columbia mother is warning consumers not assume their cellphone contracts are written in stone after new charges started appearing on her bill a year into her three-year agreement.  Rosanna von Sacken, who bought a Rogers Wireless plan that included phones for her three teenage children, discovered her contract terms had changed last summer allowing new charges for incoming text messages.Rogers started charging 15 cents for incoming messages not included in texting plans about a year after Telus and Bell implemented the same fee. That’s despite her original contract signed in September 2008 stating that all text messages are free. Each child also has a plan for unlimited texts for 10 numbers.With three teenagers, von Sacken said the extra charges started to add up quickly on her bill this fall.She complained to the company and the Better Business Bureau, but both said nothing could be done because of fine print in her original contract which states  Rogers can change the contract terms “upon notice.”   “The p oint here is the way their billing practices go. It’s wrong for Rogers to be allowed to change these fees and services,” in the middle of a contract, von Sacken said.   Bruce Cran, president of the Consumers’ Association of Canada, said  complaints such as hers are “chronic” across the country. “It’s quite disgusting that you have to read through the fine print with a magnifying glass to understand what you are signing,” Cran said, adding that Rogers isn’t the only company consumers are complaining about. “Too much of this stuff goes on in Canada.”Cellphone service and equipment also ranked the highest on the list of complaints nationwide by the BBB in 2008. 

 

Like I have even said before ” Cellular firms get new customer rules but they still have not honoured all the old ones.. Canada’s mobile phone companies will be required to make sure consumers understand their contracts when they buy a cellphone under a new code of conduct but will the phone companies next fully honour the same contracts? Unlikley. Most Consumer advocates don’t think much of the new code. A code of conduct adopted by Canada’s cell phone service providers is a political answer that doesn’t address real consumer concerns, another competent  critic now has still charged .The code will be administered by the useless, pretentious  Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services, a body set up two years ago by the industry to negotiate disputes between customers and companies.     In its first year, 2007-08,  CCTS was still unable able to resolve about 40  per cent, of the complaints according to its own website. What a very high failure rate.  About one-third of the complaints were related to wireless services. 40  per cent, that is about the number of unhappy Customers with Bell’s Internet services too”    https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/09/02/commissioner-for-complaints-for-telecommunications-services/

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Rogers charges for ‘free’ text messages CBC.ca The BBB in Burnaby, B.C., has received 581 consumer complaints about Rogers Communications in the last three years. It has given Rogers an “F” rating for failing to resolve many of those complaints to the customer’s satisfaction. Rogers also has an “F” rating at the BBB’s Toronto and North York locations, where 1,045 complaints were logged in the same period. Approximately half of those complaints were about billing. The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association brought in the Code of Conduct for Wireless Service Providers in August of this year, which Rogers and the other major providers voluntarily agreed to abide by. Industry code not enforced The code states consumers like von Sacken, whose contracts change, should not be forced to accept those changes.”In the case of such material changes that are unfavourable to customers, we either give them the right to terminate the contract without any additional fees for early termination, or allow them to remain on the unchanged contract.” “Nobody [from Rogers] has mentioned that I have that option,” said von Sacken.Spokesperson Holland insisted by email that Rogers does not consider its cancellation fee to be a penalty.  “We don’t charge a penalty, but rather in accordance with Section 8 of the Rogers terms of service any cancellation of service before the end of the customer’s commitment period (i.e. term) is subject to any applicable early cancellation fee. In this customer’s case, the fee is $20 per month remaining in her term,” Holland wrote.”I don’t feel protected by the clause at all,” von Sacken said. “Part of the problem is the wireless companies haven’t made a huge push in telling people that exists,” Von Sacken has a simple message for Rogers, about charging extra fees: “Other companies doing it does not make it right.”… , but this clause basically says that they can change the contract anyway they like, anytime they like? And if you want out you’re paying a large fee? That’s insane.  If Rogers can change the terms of thie contracts then consumers should be able to change them also. IE Change my contract, take your phone and shove it. ” I’m a serious, UNIX coding, network engineering, server maintaining Sysadmin computer geek. However after getting screwed by Rogers for two years and seeing Telus and Bell are even worse I’m looking at dropping our cell phones completely. Welcome to 1998 and the land line. It absolutely galls me but Canada is the land of the highest cell phone rates and abysmal service. ” ” It’s about time that the consumers in Canada stand up to these Rogues like Telus,Bell, RODGERS . Canadians pay the highest cost in the world for these services and then let them get away with fudging their contract obligations. WHAT IS THE POINT OF THE CONTRACT!!! The contract is a two party agreement Rogers and Customer; not a chain around the customer. Rogers has the right to change its service at any time!!! No you don’t, not before both parties in the contract agree on the new terms, and if they don’t the contract is terminated. This is sick! and they (Rogers Telus and Bell) are teaming up to stop WIND (GlobeAlive) from entering the market. SHAME ON YOU. and what’s their excuse, WIND is not a Canadian Company. I am a STRONG supporter of ensuring that companies in Canada are Canadian, but if this is how our Canadian companies act (Greed Deception Manipulation), Foreign Companies should be allowed to Enter the Market to teach these “Canadian Based” companies a lesson

Rogers Wireless Comes Under Fire, Charges for “Free” Text Messages Mobile Magazine

 OTTAWA  “Ever since the invention of cell phones and teenagers, the three Canadian giants — Bell, Rogers and Telus — have had the consumer by the wallet with a monthly hell of incomprehensible billings. As a result, Canadians pay some of the highest cellphone rates in the western world. The  Conservative government had the right objective when it recently allowed a new player into the cellular field.  Stephen Harper’s government announced that, by cabinet decree, it was effectively approving the entry of Globalive into the Canadian cellphone market.  The move overturned a previous ruling by the federal regulator, the CRTC, that Globalive was effectively Egyptian owned and controlled, and therefore not eligible to operate a Canadian telecommunications venture.   Industry Minister Tony Clement declared “Globalive is a Canadian company,” and welcome to the cellular market.  Globalive long ago went through a lengthy ownership review process by Industry Canada, and was approved as a Canadian company to bid for a piece of the cellular broadcast frequencies put up for auction by the feds last year.  The company successfully won a piece of the bandwidth set aside for new entrants to the Canadian market (including Videotron, a subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc.,).   Government insiders say that no matter what happens down the road, the Harper administration wanted to send a message to the CRTC and all players in the telecom biz — namely, that consumers are going to get a break from past monopolistic behaviour, even if it is by cabinet decree. A Conservative strategist says it was also “a shot across the bow” of the television broadcasters and cable companies that are locked in a dispute over compensation for local TV stations. “The message is a warning of what the government may be prepared to do if they think they can resolve their dispute entirely at the expense of consumers.”
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Bell, Rogers and Telus are still not about to give up their greedy, immoral  ways
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MONTREAL – The federal Competition Bureau says cable provider Cogeco (TSX:CCA) has clarified advertising claims about the speed of its Internet services in two Quebec cities. Cogeco was promoting its Internet services to residents in the cities of Drummondville and Saint-Hyacinthe, as being “the fastest”. The federal agency had accused Cogeco of promoting its Internet services to residents in Drummondville and St-Hyacinthe, both east of Montreal, without basing the claims on fair comparisons.  The Competition Bureau says the claims were misleading under its legislation because they didn’t allow consumers to compare the speed of Cogeco’s services with those its competitors and because there was no way to verify the claims   “In the Internet services field, speed and price are key factors in consumers’ purchasing decisions,” said Andrea Rosen, Deputy Commissioner of Competition, Fair Business Practices Branch. “It is important that all representations in this regard be clear and truthful so that consumers can make informed purchasing decisions.”  The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency that contributes to the prosperity of Canadians by protecting and promoting competitive markets and enabling informed consumer choice.
Enquiry / Complaint Form
Contacts: Public Affairs Branch Greg Scott Senior Communications Advisor 819-953-4257
Competition Bureau Information Centre 819-997-4282 / Toll free: 1-800-348-5358 TTY (hearing impaired): 1-800-642-3844   www.competitionbureau.gc.ca
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Do Complain about this pretentious Bureau now as well
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WHY DID THEY the federal Competition Bureau GO NOW AFTER cable provider Cogeco , DID BELL TELL THEM TO DO SO, AND NOT GO AFTER BELL WHEN BELL ALSO CLEARLY  HAS BEEN GUILTY OF FALSE MISLEADING ADVERTISEMENT FOR YEARS AS I HAVE DETAILED MANY TIMES ON THE NET?
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DEC 17,2009 SO I NEXT GOT A CALLED TODAY FROM THE USELESS, PRETENTIOUS FEDERAL COMPETITION BUREAU SINCE I SENT THEM  A FULL PAGE OF MY COMPLAINT TO THEM AS  WELL www.competitionbureau.gc.ca AS  TO WHY THEY ARE NOT DOING MUCH NOW STILL FOR DECADES TOO ABOUT THE FALSE MISLEADING ADVERTISEMENTS BY BELL, ROGERS, TELUS?  AND WHY TELUS HAS TO TAKE ROGERS TO THE QUEEN’S COURTS AND NOT THE GOVERNMENT.  AND SHE NEXT REPLIED SHE ONLY CALLED ME TO GIVE ME SOME INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THEY DO, BUT THEY CANNOT ACTUALLY DISCLOSE THE ACTUAL THINGS THEY DO, OR HAVE DONE, BECAUSE THEY ARE A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY, AND LIKE THE ALSO CLEARLY  BAD RCMP, POLICE, THEY ALSO DO TEND TO USE THE CONFIDENTIALITY CLAUSE TO COVER UP THEIR CLEARLY UNACCEPTABLE PRETENTIOUS, INADEQUATE WORKS. SHE SAID SHE WAS NOT A PROSECUTOR ONLY AN INFORMATION OFFICER, ANOTHER WORD FOR LYING PUBLIC RELATIONSHIP. BUCK PASSER? SO WHY DID THEY, SHE NOW  BOTHER TO  WASTE MY TIME, TAX PAYERS MONEY CALLING ME THEN? A SWEET FEMALE VOICE DOES NOT PLEASE ME FOR I WANT TO SEE REAL RESULTS HERE.. 
 
THIS  USELESS, PRETENTIOUS FEDERAL COMPETITION BUREAU IS LIKE THE INCOMPETENT BAD POLICE, RCMP WHO COULD NOT PROTECT THE PRIME MINISTERS RESIDENCE OR EVEN THE HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT FROM INTRUDERS, AND ARE A LAUGHING STOCK OF CANADA NOW ALSO STILL TOO
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Bad apples STILL do not fall fall  from the tree..  HALIFAX, N.S. – The head of a civil liberties group is accusing the police of using privacy legislation to block public scrutiny of their actions, a day after the RCMP refused to reveal details of a fatal shooting involving one of its officers.  David Eby of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association said he’s seeing more police agencies cite the federal privacy law as a reason for not releasing information about investigations into officers’ conduct.  “It’s really not about privacy rights,” he said from Vancouver on Tuesday. “We feel they’re using it as a shield to avoid accountability.”  His comments come in the aftermath of a decision by Nova Scotia RCMP to not charge an officer who fatally shot a reportedly intoxicated and suicidal man who was in his home alone in Cape Breton.  John Simon died Dec. 8, 2008, after he was shot on the Wagmatcook First Nation reserve. His family argue police didn’t need to enter the residence, where Simon was reportedly sitting on the toilet when the officer is believed to have climbed in through a window.  RCMP said at a news conference Monday that a probe by the Halifax police department determined the officer who fired the gun did so in self-defence.  But they refused to answer questions about the incident, including why Simon was considered a threat, who made a 911 call, whether the officer was authorized to enter the house and how many times Simon was shot.  RCMP Chief Supt. Blair McKnight said Monday he wasn’t “permitted to release a copy of this investigation or the details” because of the privacy law.  When asked on Tuesday to explain how the law prevents the release of more details, the RCMP issued a news release reiterating its position: “Under the privacy law of Canada, the RCMP cannot disclose the specifics of any criminal investigation.”  Eby said there have been other cases in British Columbia where police have cited the federal law to withhold the release of information into cases probing police conduct.  “They’re taking a certain interpretation of privacy law that most benefits them in avoiding having to explain difficult circumstances,” he said.  Lisa Austin, a law professor at the University of Toronto, said the federal law is so discretionary that it allows forces to use it liberally to decide if personal information needs to be protected.  “That is a huge problem with the federal legislation – there’s so much discretion built into it,” she said.  “You can exempt things for privacy reasons and then there’s a discretion to take into account the public interest. Well who’s exercising the discretion? The people who want to keep it hushed up.”   Simon’s common-law spouse, Patsy MacKay, said police revealed some details of the case to her, but said they were limited by the federal legislation from answering all of her questions.  MacKay said she still has no clear understanding as to why the Halifax police, which investigated the RCMP’s conduct, determined that the officer acted appropriately.  MacKay said police told her she could file a request for the report through the federal Access to Information Act, but that it would be largely blacked out.  Supt. Mike Burns of the Halifax police said the officer who entered Simon’s home fired his pistol at him “after reasonably perceiving that John Simon posed a threat of grievous bodily harm or death, and believing that he could not otherwise preserve himself from grievous bodily harm other than by using deadly force.” Eby said the case adds to a growing demand for civilian groups to be in charge of investigating police conduct rather than having officers do it themselves.  Halifax police led the investigation into Simon’s death, but RCMP spokeswoman Brigdit Leger said RCMP officers were involved in the year-long probe. The RCMP would have no input into the final report or the decision to charge, she said in a news release There are several different models in place across the country to investigate the conduct of police, but provincial oversight bodies have no authority over the RCMP.  Ontario created a Special Investigations Unit, made up of civilian investigators, to handle cases involving police that result in death or injury to civilians.  In Alberta, cases are handled by a unit headed by a civilian director and made up of 10 active police officers and six civilians.  Nova Scotia Justice Minister Ross Landry has said he will develop a new arms-length, independent unit to investigate police actions sometime next year.   http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/091215/national/ns_rcmp_shooting
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 https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/17147/ Mad Canadian telecomunications giants slug fest
 https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/deceptive-unacceptable-unfair-business-trade-practices-unreliable-internet-access/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/phone-companies-internet-at-disadvantage/
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and what about them also going after the big guys like Bell, Rogers, TELUS too?

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Now this Mis-advertisement of the actual speeds attained  also reflects the common  problem we tend to  have also in Canada with the false, misleading advertising, trade practices by Bell, Rogers, Videotron in regard to the speeds of their iphone and DSL, ADSL, cable internet services. These Communication, ISP firms amongst others are known to inflate, advertise substantially higher speeds than the consumer will actual get next get on the average, and the  next related internet congestion cause web connectivity problems, and also reductions of the downloads speeds too..
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Now what about having now the much needed real consumer protections for the citizens of Canada here as well from the greedy, lying, no good corporations? fully enforced when? not more lies saying it exists…
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I TOO HAVE MADE ERRORS, ERRORS IN JUDGMENT, MISTAKES, BUT AT LEAST I TRY HARD NOT TO DO IT AGAIN, SOMETHING THE COPS AND JUDGES, CRTC, CIVIL AND PUBLIC SERVANTS  WOULD DO WELL TO TRY REALLY HARD AT  NOW AS WELL.. INSTEAD OF TOO OFTEN REPEATING THEM..

 

 

 
It is very obvious that Bell considers cable Videotron also  a very severe threat, a big competitor to it’s own profitability and is the  main reason  that Bell has  to lie so much in it’s SALES, marketing APPROACH , and why Bell tries so hard falsely  to discredit the cable firms.
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and don’t you dare get sick and go to a Hospital you might have to find out what the doctors, nurses, hospital and Medicare are really like now too https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/hospital-deaths-account-for-half-of-deaths-annually/
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Emergency  Wards in Hospitals can be a deadly place.. many people pick up all kinds of sicknesses there too.. shit disease included..  https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/victims-of-deadly-c-difficile-outbreak/   http://anyonecare.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/shit-disease/ 
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/even-many-doctors-are-mainly-selfish-self-centered-want-to-get-rich-fast-too/

December 2, 2009

Mad Canadian telecomunications giants slug fest

The truth that all of our customers should know by now that we all do lie, Bell, Rogers, Telus is still really unacceptable to all.. prosecute them fully under the full extent of the Law. Honesty and truth in all advertising rightfully demanded

  You’ve read the headlines, the ones that end in disbelief, disgust.  Wall Streeters who brought us the economic meltdown through their own greed are next rewarded with multi-billion dollar bailouts rich enough to float a mid-sized country . Meanwhile also many of  the fat cats get fatter on the teats of the taxpayers, not a few of  them too. Now we also find out some of the windfall wizards used their aid to pay off creditors while ensuring the bonus gravy train was stoked and leaving the station and some of the top the executives gave themselves big raises, bonuses  for it still. Most of the money from many non profit instutions, corporations, never gets to help others. Even many medical Doctors, are selfish, self serving. We hear about big corporations still gouging the citizens with their high, unreasonable  prices too. We again hear about big corruptions , thefts still going on by our civil and public servants, at the federal, provincial and municipal levels in Canada  and you often now do wonder why it still goes on? The answer is very simple, for you have not cried, demanded justice loud enough for many to hear. Do so now too. Contact now the news editors, governments , police today. Even again.
 
 
 
Bell’s Misleading ads  stating its  superior networking claims are based on a selected September 2009 analysis,  and local and not national tests selected ,  which tested the average download speeds, dropped calls and call clarity in only the large urban centres, in comparing the shared Bell network to Rogers. It is not a survey of the customers themselves. 
 
 
 
 

Rogers Wireless operator seeks to strike down it’s competitor’s  Bell false ‘largest, fastest, and most reliable network’ campaign. Mad telecommunication giants slug fest

Rogers lawsuit targets Bell advertising claims   Globe and Mail –   Tuesday, Dec. 01, 2009 3:06PM EST Last updated on Tuesday, Dec. 01, 2009 10:55PM EST  Rogers is now accusing Bell of “false or misleading” advertising with its new campaign. While Bell has about 6.7 million customers remaining on its old network, Rogers points out that it has far fewer customers on the new high-speed network and therefore could not have conducted testing with sufficient traffic to validate any claims of reliability.“We have evidence to deliver to the court that says they are not more reliable than we are, nor are they faster than we are,” said John Boynton, the chief marketing officer of Rogers Wireless.“An empty network is always going to be faster,” noted Iain Grant of the Seaboard Group, a communications and technology consulting firm in Montreal and Toronto. “So I think Rogers’ case has merit.” Rogers further notes that ads boasting “Being with Bell just got better,” create the mistaken impression that all of Bell’s customers will benefit from the new network, not just its new high-speed users.

 

Wireless giants in seasonal slugfest CBC.ca

 

Competition between Canada’s three big cellphone providers during Christmases past has always been ferocious, but the spirit of the season this year is becoming downright ugly. Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. have entangled themselves in a web of lawsuits and countersuits in recent weeks over which company possesses the “best” or “most reliable” wireless network in the land. Considering what is at stake, though, the legal actions may be warranted. Rogers, the country’s largest wireless provider by number of subscribers, sued BCE’s Bell Mobility in a B.C. court over its claim to own the “largest, fastest and most-reliable” cellphone network in Canada, seeking an immediate injunction on the rival’s current ad campaign.“We’re filing that [Bell’s ads] are false and misleading,” said John Boynton, executive vice-president of marketing at Rogers. The ads, which boast that “Being with Bell just got better,” trumpet the company’s newly installed network technology, called HSPA, or high-speed packet access. 

 

Wireless in court: Rogers goes after Bell ITWorld Canada  This is only the first round of the wireless war. Two new wireless companies are about to start service to increase the competition: Toronto-based DAVE Wireless Inc., will operate in many major Canadian cities, and Public Mobile Inc., which will do business in Toronto and Montreal. Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron cable division, which is already in the wireless business by reselling spectrum from Rogers, bought its own spectrum at last summer’s AWS auction and will be better able to take on Bell and Rogers in Quebec.

 

 
 
MobileSyrup.com –  Here is why Rogers is going after Bell:
– We are challenging Bell’s claim and asking the Court stop Bell from using false and misleading messages in its advertisements– Consumers need to know that Bell has no valid support to claim faster speed and more reliability on a network that has virtually no customers and no proven track record on this new network. Bell is falsely misleading customers about the size, the speed and the reliability of its network

1. The vast majority of Bell customers are still using an old CDMA network and aren’t enjoying the benefits of the new HSPA network, contrary to what is falsely implied in their ads

2. Reliability is not something that can be measured on an empty, unproven network.

3. Even Telus has recognized that the Rogers network is more reliable than the Telus EVDO network still being used by the vast majority of Telus customers. The Court in BC also recognized this advantage enjoyed by Rogers over the past years

4. We’re confident that once Bell and Telus have customers on their new network, we will demonstrate through rigorous testing that we are still more reliable

Rogers Wireless executive vice-president John Boynton said “We have our own data to suggest that they’re not the most reliable and we will show up to court with our own data,. These are ludicrous made up statements they don’t mean anything and there’s no testing for the words powerful and best”.

So…the question get’s asked again Canada – who in your mind is the most reliable carrier? 

 
   
 
Competition between Canada’s three big cellphone providers during Christmases past has always been ferocious, but the spirit of the season this year is becoming downright ugly. Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. have entangled themselves in a web of lawsuits and countersuits in recent weeks over which company possesses the “best” or “most reliable” wireless network in the land. Considering what is at stake, though, the legal actions may be warranted. Rogers, the country’s largest wireless provider by number of subscribers, sued BCE’s Bell Mobility in a B.C. court over its claim to own the “largest, fastest and most-reliable” cellphone network in Canada, seeking an immediate injunction on the rival’s current ad campaign.“ We’re filing that [Bell’s ads] are false and misleading,” said John Boynton, executive vice-president of marketing at Rogers. The ads, which boast that “Being with Bell just got better,” trumpet the company’s newly installed network technology, called HSPA, or high-speed packet access. 
 
and what an unbiased reporting of the matter? clearly unprofessional
 
It is an established, undeniable fact that at least 40 percent off Bell’s present, past customers have  been dissatisfied with the actual customer support they have received in Canada relating to cell phones, internet services, billings, etc. That is why many of them have gone elsewhere even to Videotron, Acanac, etc. 
 
AND ANYONE WHO HAS TRIED TO DEAL WITH BELL SERVICE, COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT KNOWS HOW OBSTINATE, STONE WALLING, UNHELPFUL THEY MOSTLY CAN BE TOO..
 
The lying spin doctors at  the news media, not just the Canada’s major telecommunications firms are now also busy working too .. Bell also does not discriminate, show partiality, it seems ready to abuse anyone.. Competition between Telus, Bell and Rogers, which control about 90 per cent of Canada’s wireless market, intensified when Bell and Telus upgraded their wireless networks, enabling them to sell Apple’s coveted iPhone for the first time earlier this month. Network speed doesn’t matter to regular cell phone or internet  users,   because it makes no difference for voice usage, but it becomes crucial to the smartphone experience when using bandwidth intensive programs, and for persons who  like to view, download multimedia on the net..
 
Our monopolistic Canadian wireless carriers are engaging in a war of words over even false words over speeds, reliable, etc., Telus. Rogers, Bell spin doctors all unrealistically say they expect to make loads more money gouging the customers with extra fees.. Dream on. Canadians are known to be cheap for a start even.
 
There is more ample evidence on the net  that many Canadians are dissatisfied with the actual services they do or have received from  Rogers, Bell, Videotron, Shaw, Telus,  Canada’s major, Monopolistic Media,  Telecommunications firms.   Many Canadians can see clearly that Rogers, Bell, Videotron, Shaw, Telus  they all only care about one thing.. maximum profits.. motivated by maximum greed..  AND ARE OFTEN   GUILTY OF FALSE MISLEADING ADVERTISING AS WELL., they also too often are mostly finding an excuse to charge the customer even for more.. and yes that they have done with firstly their lies, distortions …  sadly also each Corporation tends to  copy the other’s bad business practices it seems and no one cares about integrity or  the citizens, consumer, the CRTC or the governments now included.   
Bell or Bell  Bell Mobility Inc offers “Canada’s largest, fastest, and most reliable network.” amongst  Rogers, Telus????????
  
– Maybe Bell the largest but is Bell even the fastest over Telus? Misleading.. is the fast speed consistent, continually or is this an occasional  peak speed? what actual speed does the consumer get even? try the http://www.acanac.ca/speedtest/
– Bell is the most reliable?.. and what realistic, honest Data do you have for that even now? Does that include  their ISP  internet now too? and Most reliable over whom? the US not included? Do please ditch ‘most reliable network’ claim !!! 
– and what does it mean ” the court is not in a position to ensure compliance” of honest, truthful advertising by any of these firms?
-Misleading still claims of superiority in ads refer to footnotes such as not available all the time or in all parts of Canada still? all SUBJECT TO EXTRA COSTS TOO
 
Merely this is ALL still an UNACCEPTABLY  a FALSE PLAY ON WORDS..

False misleading advertising has long time been made by Telus, Rogers, Bell and others in Canada while the Ostrich federal consumer ddepartment, government did nothing.. I even wrote to you about THIS ISSUE  too and what it takes the courts to deal with everything now, AND so why do we need the  government ?

” its like Satan suing Lucifer cause they don’t have enough room to spread chaos disorder and SCAMS”, ”  “  I wish that all three companies would just fry in hell.
 
 
 

 ” It really is ridiculous that these companies and the people who run them have to sink this low to try to make each other look bad.” Just like our bad Canadian Conservative Politicians now too. ” Yep, but, it doesn’t matter who has the fastest. Neither one of them is offering us 21 mbps devices, and none have been tested to their potential.”

 

The lying spin doctors at  the news media, not just the Canada’s major telecommunications firms are now also busy working too .. Bell also does not discriminate, show partiality, it seems ready to abuse anyone.. Competition between Telus, Bell and Rogers, which control about 90 per cent of Canada’s wireless market, intensified when Bell and Telus upgraded their wireless networks, enabling them to sell Apple’s coveted iPhone for the first time earlier this month. Network speed doesn’t matter to regular cell phone or internet  users,   because it makes no difference for voice usage, but it becomes crucial to the smartphone experience when using bandwidth intensive programs, and for persons who  like to view, download multimedia on the net..
 
 

 Big Corporations are falsely allowed by our governments to do what they want cause they have big clout with their big monies?  https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/bell-and-telus-unrealistic-management-expectations/
  

 

 

 

November 21, 2009

Bell and Telus – MISLEADING ADDS, Unrealistic Management expectations..

 

 
  Rogers Communications Inc. said  that wireless growth and tighter cost controls helped it return to fourth-quarter profit, but its stock tumbled on disappointing wireless subscriber gains. Rogers — which owns Canada’s largest wireless phone carrier — was expected to add many more longer-term and more lucrative post-paid wireless subscribers after its main rivals, BCE and Telus, posted weak gains recently.  Telus Corp., which reported fourth-quarter earnings last week, saw a 45-per-cent slide in profits due, in part, to customers who cease making calls and opt for texting instead. This, despite the fact that the cost of voice calls has declined.  http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Rogers+posts+profit+wireless+gains+disappoint/2579280/story.html
 
There is also more ample evidence on the net  that many Canadians are dissatisfied with the actual services they do or have received from  Rogers, Bell, Videotron, Shaw, Telus,  Canada’s major, Monopolistic Media,  Telecommunications firms .
 
 For example Phone customers in  parts of Canada  were  feeling frustrated after several hours of disrupted phone service, according to the Canadian Press new service.  Some phone calls  were dropped during the day. Because the outage was the result of a problem at Telus Corp..  Rogers said it has internal and third party external audit since 2007 as proof that it is the most reliable network. Rogers added Telus lack data on its network performance.
 
 Canada’s telcos such as Bell  are at a clear disadvantage in the battle with the cable companies, for internet speeds as well, cable firms  have modern coaxial cable networks that support greater bandwidth use than the phone companies’ too common mostly copper wire and so in overcoming this Bell resorts to lies, false misleading advertisements for years now too.  https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/so-much-for-any-promised-consumer-protecton/
 
Bell’s ads  stating its  superior networking claims are based on a selected September 2009 analysis,  and local and not national tests selected ,  which tested the average download speeds, dropped calls and call clarity in only the large urban centres, in comparing the shared Bell network to Rogers. It is not a survey of the customers themsleves.
 
 Many Canadians can see clearly that Rogers, Bell, Videotron, Shaw, Telus  they all only care about one thing.. maximum profits.. motivated by maximum greed..  AND ARE OFTEN   GUILTY OF FALSE MISLEADING ADVERTISING AS WELL., they also too often are mostly finding an excuse to charge the customer even for more.. and yes that they have done with firstly their lies, distortions …  sadly also each Corporation tends to  copy the other’s bad business practices it seems and no one cares about integrity or  the citizens, consumer, the CRTC or the governments now included. 
 
 
 
Bell or Bell  Bell Mobility Inc offers “Canada’s largest, fastest, and most reliable network.” amongst  Rogers, Telus????????
  
– Maybe Bell the largest but is Bell even the fastest over Telus? Misleading.. is the fast speed consistent, continually or is this an occasional  peak speed? what actual speed does the consumer get even? try the http://www.acanac.ca/speedtest/
– Bell is the most reliable?.. and what realistic, honest Data do you have for that even now? Does that include  their ISP  internet now too? and Most reliable over whom? the US not included? Do please ditch ‘most reliable network’ claim !!! 
– and what does it mean ” the court is not in a position to ensure compliance” of honest, truthful advertising by any of these firms?
-Misleading still claims of superiority in ads refer to footnotes such as not available all the time or in all parts of Canada still? all SUBJECT TO EXTRA COSTS TOO
 
Merely this is ALL still an UNACCEPTABLY  a FALSE PLAY ON WORDS..

False misleading advertising has long time been made by Telus, Rogers, Bell and others in Canada while the Ostrich federal consumer ddepartment, government did nothing.. I even wrote to you about THIS ISSUE  too and what it takes the courts to deal with everything now, AND so why do we need the  government ?

 Big Corporations are falsely allowed by our governments to do what they want cause they have big clout with their big monies? ‘

It is an established, undeniable fact that at least 40 percent off Bell’s present, past customers have  been dissatisfied with the actual customer support they have received in Canada relating to cell phones, internet services, billings, etc. That is why many of them have gone elsewhere even to Videotron, Acanac, etc.

 On top of that many people have rushed to get a  cell phone and have tied themselves now  to a long term telecommunication provider contract while meanwhile very significant consumer features, new application usages have evolved..  and these thus have made their phones obsolete very quickly. Now  being able to listen to music while browsing the web and sending email makes a multi-tasking Smartphone an appealing option, plus the ability to watch videos online as well. A cell phone’s integration with popular and widespread Google apps like Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Voice will help with its popularity.

AND ANYONE WHO HAS TRIED TO DEAL WITH BELL SERVICE, COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT KNOWS HOW OBSTINATE, STONE WALLING, UNHELPFUL THEY MOSTLY CAN BE TOO..

The lying spin doctors at  the news media, not just the Canada’s major telecommunications firms are now also busy working too .. Bell also does not discriminate, show partiality, it seems ready to abuse anyone.. Competition between Telus, Bell and Rogers, which control about 90 per cent of Canada’s wireless market, intensified when Bell and Telus upgraded their wireless networks, enabling them to sell Apple’s coveted iPhone for the first time earlier this month. Network speed doesn’t matter to regular cell phone or internet  users,   because it makes no difference for voice usage, but it becomes crucial to the smartphone experience when using bandwidth intensive programs, and for persons who  like to view, download multimedia on the net..
  
Public exposure and prosecution of the guilty persons seems to be most effective way that works for everyone’s benefit in dealing with the bad acts of others still.
 
The Advertised speed is now again at the centre of a legal dispute between two of the country’s largest cell phone providers. Rogers and Telus. Telus Communications Inc. launched a lawsuit against Rogers Communications Inc. in British Columbia’s Supreme Court over Rogers advertisements that claimed its wireless network is the “fastest” and the “most reliable” in Canada. Rogers claims  its mobile network indeed provided faster data speeds than those of its competitors, Telus and BCE Inc.’s Bell Canada. Actually the  data speed are not consistent from day one now too and many customers have complained they do not continual recipe the expected, advertised speeds.  Telus says   its new network offered speeds as fast as those provided by Rogers  in areas available. Rogers’ advertising also  gives consumers the impression that its network provides better call clarity, fewer dropped calls and more reliable data transmission  and even all that is questionable from any communication firm now  too.
 
“Rogers has no network advantage and shouldn’t be misleading the Canadian populace with “false superiority claims?” or any of the Canadian firms now still too.. One can read about  loads of customers dissatisfaction about Rogers, Telus, Bell posted on the net now already too.  Rogers Wireless was   disputing a Bell Canada ad claiming Bell has the “the fastest … network across North America early in the year.” The ASC found the claim to be false, but Bell Canada ignored the ruling and continued to run the advertisement, because they don’t recognize the organization as legitimate. …it seems I only hear bad things about Bell Canada. Are they really that bad?  Worse. Plus they offer less and charge more. If I’m not mistaken they are also the most expensive for anything (internet,phone etc)if your not on a contract. Bell has yet to figure out why they keep losing customers
 
Our monopolistic Canadian wireless carriers are engaging in a war of words over even false words over speeds, reliable, etc., Telus. Rogers, Bell spin doctors all unrealistically say they expect to make loads more money gouging the customers with extra fees.. Dream on. Canadians are known to be cheap for a start eveben. Telus.   B.C.’s largest private corporation, now has a “long-term evolution” network that will maybe provides a true global standard in five to six years while others already offer compatibility all over the world .   A prolonged recession combined with higher up-front costs for new smart phones has forced Telus Corp. to cut its overall financial outlook for the fiscal year even as it faces greater competition    Combined with upfront costs Telus and the others too  must pay Apple and other handset makers such as Research In Motion Ltd. for devices means earnings for the year will be lower than expected, Telus said.  Canadian carriers pay as much as $400 per iPhone with the hope that subscribers will surf the web, pushing up data revenues. Not a very realistic hope. When Consumers are already money conscious, because of the present recession.    
 
Rogers Communications Inc.,  has been the market leader in wireless in Canada for years – in part because it was the only carrier to offer HSPA, favoured by handset makers like Apple Inc. The adds also do say “Telus and Bell went live with their next-generation 3G wireless network last week, delivering high-speed Internet service that’s up to four times faster than home service delivered by wires.”  Telus has spent hundreds of millions of dollars overlaying its existing cellphone network with high-speed packet access (HSPA) technology in partnership with Bell Canada, The massive 1.1-million-square-kilometre network extends across British Columbia, Alberta and eastern Canada now.   This  wireless service is available through an Internet stick that goes in a port on any laptop computer, and network speed of 21 megabytes per second that is fast enough to download and view high-resolution video, there is a COST ASSOCIATED WITH UT STILL TOO..   Now that Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility have a joint sleek new wireless network, they have to contend with headaches that had been a concern only to their rival, Rogers Wireless, burdens, like “grey market” unlocked phones and data roaming, The Bell,  Telus  network reaches also across the two western provinces and into Canada’s major urban centres but still does not cover all of Canada.. Telus/Bell HSPA+ network misses almost 2 complete provinces and northwestern Ontario for any coverage, and does not allow in country GSM roaming.
 
Telus sues Rogers over advertised claims    Telus Communications Co. is suing Rogers Communications Inc., claiming Rogers no longer has the right to call itself “Canada’s most reliable” or “Canada’s fastest” network.  So if Rogers wants to continue with this claim, they should cover all of Canada and all their customers. Not just the ones that happen to live in a major city centre. Nationwide coverage??? Not even close.    I currently have Telus “high speed” Internet service. On numerous occasions, this Telus service has been slower than my old 56K dial-up service. That is why I am canceling my Telus service as of next week and going with the competition (just to see if they are any better).   Telus is in no position to be taking legal action based on Rogers engaging in misleading advertising. Telus does it too, with its advertised claims of high speed internet access. If Telus is advertising high-speed Internet service, it should be high speed 24/7, and not just when the network is not busy.   And this is not just my computer or modem being slow, as I have had numerous others tell me that their Telus “high speed” Internet service is very slow at times.   A perfect example of the pot calling the kettle black   Just another couple of corporate crybabies looking to gouge the customer.  http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/11/18/bc-telus-rogers-lawsuit.html
 
” its like Satan suing Lucifer cause they don’t have enough room to spread chaos disorder and SCAMS”, ”  ”  I wish that all three companies would just fry in hell.
 
 ” It really is ridiculous that these companies and the people who run them have to sink this low to try to make each other look bad.” Just like our bad Canadian Conservative Politicians now too. ” Yep, but, it doesn’t matter who has the fastest. Neither one of them is offering us 21 mbps devices, and none have been tested to their potential.”

Misleading facts , costs or hidden costs already too. Rogers scrapped its unpopular ‘System Access Fee’ earlier this year, but replaed it with a Government Regulatory Recovery Fee, and increased the price of some cell phone plans. “I suppose that they hoped by putting ‘Government’ in the title that people would assume the fee is legitimate,” quipped Virgin Group Chairman, Richard Branson and   “Bell, which owns 100% of Virgin, is the only carrier still charging a system access fee for new customers.” As for the Government Regulatory Recovery Fee, Rogers says it covers “provincial 911 fees, spectrum acquisition, licensing charges, and contribution charges to help subsidize telephone service in rural and remote areas.” It is about half the cost of the old System Access Fee, which is still charged by Bell Mobility (but not Virgin).  

Realistically the Unrealistic Management expectations.. misleading the customers, giving them wrong expectations leads not to more profitability but rather to more dissatisfied, very annoyed, bitter customers too.. same as their nickel and dime to death extras business approach..

 
 http://picasaweb.google.com/anonconformer/Thenonconformer

 

 

see
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/bells-lies-vs-reality-again/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/iphone-palm-phone-rush/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/10/12/bell-telus-team-up-to-upgrade-networks-and-why/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/inevitable-reality/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/gross-vehicular-manslaughter-while-texting/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/canadians-want-a-full-cell-phone-while-driving-ban/ 
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/insuring-adequate-consumer-protection/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/the-new-still-sad-unacceptable-reality/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/deceptive-unacceptable-unfair-business-trade-practices-unreliable-internet-access/ 
http://witnessed.wordpress.com/2008/07/29/this-next-was-so-predictable-even-by-me-too/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/bittorrent-p2p-sites/

 

Which reminds me my Bell internet services is still disastrous, unreliable, I have connectivity problems even as of lately periodically when I have no downloads even, I have email sending problems as well.. and what Bell does not know who to fix this still and it wants more money? dream on..
 

November 10, 2009

Iphone, Palm Phone Rush

cell phone cartoons

It seems Canada’s iphone providers are a typical step backwards again.. In a rush to make money, while screwing consumers too often, they do  selll   inadeqate objects or those too quickly outdated..  toohttps://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/06/14/buyer-beware-beware/
 
 Rogers officially releases Dell Streak for $149.99 next on 3-year Rogers states that this product is “Designed with the future in mind, the Dell Streak will support over-the-air updates including Android platform upgrades, Adobe Flash 10.1, video chat applications enhancements and other software innovations.” The Streak comes with Android OS 1.6 but will be upgraded to 2.1 (no talks of upgrades past this yet).It’s a disservice to customers to sell something like this to customers that may not be informed enough to know better. No word on the actual actual upgrade date, is insane. I wouldn’t touch this device with the outdated Anroid and no confirmed update date. Don’t buy it until you see Android 2.2 on it. Android 2.1 doesn’t support Adobe Flash. Sony Ericsson has a hard time moving from Android 1.6 to 2.1.Here is the link: http://blogs.sonyericsson.com/products/2010/09/23/update-on-updates/ 

 Does it also mean  (1) Rogers is the exclusive seller of this device in Canada; or (2) a person using this device will not be able to roam onto other networks such Bell, Telus or any carrier outside Canada (e.g. AT&T, Vodafone, etc.). It is SIM locked to Rogers?there is no way to switch to another provider.Canadian carriers are bot required to provide the unlock code upon request?  In Canada, there are no laws regulating SIM locking or unlocking.  The  consumer advocates say all carriers are inserting locks for no other reason than to keep customers from switching. Most carriers charge $20 for each month remaining on a contract, and more if the customer has a data plan, so a subscriber who cancels a two-year plan after only one year would be on the hook for at least $240. Locked phones also force consumers to pay their carrier’s often-hefty roaming fees when travelling internationally. With an unlocked phone, the owner can buy a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card from a local carrier for a small fee and make much cheaper calls wherever they may be.  The big 4 are still screwing the consumer  It is time to unlock the phones and let providers compete on a level playing field for the provision of service. Unlocking phones will also allow many companies that don’t offer telecommunication services to sell phones – that means downward pressure on the price of phones and phones that are current. The teleco skullduggery has got to be stopped. Unlocking phones is a start.

Canadians can still unlock their phone through several methods, such as independent phone dealers found in many malls, but it often incurs an additional charge and voids the warranty on the device. Doing so is  Competition in the wireless industry is heating up with the recent launch of several new carriers, but critics say Canadians are still facing at least one big barrier to choice — locked phones — and a new copyright bill expected to be introduced this week could make matters worse. Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/05/31/copyright-cellphone-locks.html#ixzz14uCT7obZ

https://sites.google.com/site/euprepaidcallingcardssims/mobile-manufacturers/box-breaking/sim-lock

Unlocked iPhones Could Herald True Mobility  http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5144/135/

Many US or Canadian based cell phones do not work at all in China.or elswhere too?  If you  have confirmed that your cell phone will work in China, you can either decide to keep the current SIM card with your provider in the phone and pay the extremely high rates that North American providers charge to use their service in China or, you can swap out their SIM cards and use a local Chinese one and literally spend pennies as opposed to dollars. SIM cards for China are easy and inexpensive to find and purchase in China but, please note that there are many types available for purchase. Not all will allow you to place international calls. You may also purchase them online. There are several US vendors, including www.cellularabroad.com and http://www.amazon.com that offer SIM cardshttp://www.chinatoday.com/travel/china_travel_guide/cell_phone_service_advise_for_china.htm

GOOGLE’S Android mobile operating system has surged past Apple’s iPhone and Canada’s Blackberry in the third quarter to become the world’s second biggest smartphone platform. Finland’s Nokia sold 29.5 million smartphones during the third quarter of the year for a 36.6 per cent share of the worldwide market, down from 44.6 per cent a year ago. Sales of Android-powered smartphones soared to 20.5 million units, giving the Android platform a 25.5 per cent market share, up from just 3.5 per cent a year ago. Apple’s iPhone was next on sales of 13.5 million units for a 16.7 per cent market share, down from 17.1 per cent a year ago. Canada’s Research In Motion, maker of the Blackberry, was in fourth position with sales of 11.9 million units. Its market share dropped to 14.8 per cent from 20.7 per cent a year ago. Microsoft’s Windows Mobile saw sales of 2.2 million units giving it a 2.8 per cent market share, down from 7.9 per cent a year ago, worldwide mobile phone sales totaled 417 million units in the third quarter, up 35 per cent from a year ago. Smartphone sales grew 96 per cent to 81 million units and accounted for 19.3 per cent of overall mobile phone sales in the quarter.  

 

The lying spin doctors at  the news media, Canada’s major telecommunications firms are busy working too .. Bell also does not discriminate, show partiality, it seems ready to abuse anyone.. Competition between Telus, Bell and Rogers, which control about 90 per cent of Canada’s wireless market, intensified when Bell and Telus upgraded their wireless networks, enabling them to sell Apple’s coveted iPhone for the first time earlier this month. Network speed doesn’t matter to regular cell phone or internet  users,   because it makes no difference for voice usage, but it becomes crucial to the smartphone experience when using bandwidth intensive programs, and for persons who  like to view, download multimedia on the net..
 
On top of that many people have rushed to get a  cell phone and have tied themselves now  to a long term telecommunication provider contract while meanwhile very significant consumer features, new application usages have evolved..  and these thus have made their phones obsolete very quickly. Now  being able to listen to music while browsing the web and sending email makes a multi-tasking Smartphone an appealing option, plus the ability to watch videos online as well. A cell phone’s integration with popular and widespread Google apps like Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Voice will help with its popularity.
 
 
Advertised speed is now again at the centre of a legal dispute between two of the country’s largest cell phone providers. Rogers and Telus. Telus Communications Inc. launched a lawsuit against Rogers Communications Inc. in British Columbia’s Supreme Court over Rogers advertisements that claimed its wireless network is the “fastest” and the “most reliable” in Canada. Rogers claims  its mobile network indeed provided faster data speeds than those of its competitors, Telus and BCE Inc.’s Bell Canada. Actually the  data speed are not consistent from day one now too and many customers have complained they do not continual recipe the expected, advertised speeds.  Telus says   its new network offered speeds as fast as those provided by Rogers  in areas available. Rogers’ advertising also  gives consumers the impression that its network provides better call clarity, fewer dropped calls and more reliable data transmission  and even all that is questionable from any communication firm now  too. 
 
 
Phone customers in  parts of Ontario were  feeling frustrated after several hours of disrupted phone service, according to the Canadian Press new service.  Some phone calls  were dropped during the day. Because the outage was the result of a problem at Telus Corp..  Rogers said it has internal and third party external audit since 2007 as proof that it is the most reliable network. Rogers added Telus lack data on its network performance.
 
“Rogers has no network advantage and shouldn’t be misleading the Canadian populace with “false superiority claims?” or any of the Canadian firms now still too.. One can read about  loads of customers dissatisfaction about Rogers, Telus, Bell posted on the net now already too.  Rogers Wireless was   disputing a Bell Canada ad claiming Bell has the “the fastest … network across North America early in the year.” The ASC found the claim to be false, but Bell Canada ignored the ruling and continued to run the advertisement, because they don’t recognize the organization as legitimate. …it seems I only hear bad things about Bell Canada. Are they really that bad?  Worse. Plus they offer less and charge more. If I’m not mistaken they are also the most expensive for anything (internet,phone etc)if your not on a contract.”
 
Our monopolistic Canadian wireless carriers are engaging in a war of words over even false words over speeds, reliable, etc., Telus. Rogers, Bell spin doctors all unrealistically say they expect to make loads more money gouging the customers with extra fees.. Dream on. Canadians are known to be cheap for a start eveben. Telus.   B.C.’s largest private corporation, now has a “long-term evolution” network that will maybe provides a true global standard in five to six years while others already offer compatibility all over the world .   A prolonged recession combined with higher up-front costs for new smart phones has forced Telus Corp. to cut its overall financial outlook for the fiscal year even as it faces greater competition    Combined with upfront costs Telus and the others too  must pay Apple and other handset makers such as Research In Motion Ltd. for devices means earnings for the year will be lower than expected, Telus said.  Canadian carriers pay as much as $400 per iPhone with the hope that subscribers will surf the web, pushing up data revenues. Not a very realistic hope. When Consumers are already money conscious, because of the present recession.
 
Rogers Communications Inc.,  has been the market leader in wireless in Canada for years – in part because it was the only carrier to offer HSPA, favoured by handset makers like Apple Inc. The adds also do say “Telus and Bell went live with their next-generation 3G wireless network last week, delivering high-speed Internet service that’s up to four times faster than home service delivered by wires.”  Telus has spent hundreds of millions of dollars overlaying its existing cellphone network with high-speed packet access (HSPA) technology in partnership with Bell Canada, The massive 1.1-million-square-kilometre network extends across British Columbia, Alberta and eastern Canada now.   This  wireless service is available through an Internet stick that goes in a port on any laptop computer, and network speed of 21 megabytes per second that is fast enough to download and view high-resolution video, there is a COST ASSOCIATED WITH UT STILL TOO..   Now that Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility have a joint sleek new wireless network, they have to contend with headaches that had been a concern only to their rival, Rogers Wireless, burdens, like “grey market” unlocked phones and data roaming, The Bell,  Telus  network reaches also across the two western provinces and into Canada’s major urban centres but still does not cover all of Canada.. Telus/Bell HSPA+ network misses almost 2 complete provinces and northwestern Ontario for any coverage, and does not allow in country GSM roaming.across the two western provinces and into Canada’s major urban centres but still does not cover all of Canada..
 
Telus sues Rogers over advertised claims    Telus Communications Co. is suing Rogers Communications Inc., claiming Rogers no longer has the right to call itself “Canada’s most reliable” or “Canada’s fastest” network.  So if Rogers wants to continue with this claim, they should cover all of Canada and all their customers. Not just the ones that happen to live in a major city centre. Nationwide coverage??? Not even close.    I currently have Telus “high speed” Internet service. On numerous occasions, this Telus service has been slower than my old 56K dial-up service. That is why I am canceling my Telus service as of next week and going with the competition (just to see if they are any better).   Telus is in no position to be taking legal action based on Rogers engaging in misleading advertising. Telus does it too, with its advertised claims of high speed internet access. If Telus is advertising high-speed Internet service, it should be high speed 24/7, and not just when the network is not busy.   And this is not just my computer or modem being slow, as I have had numerous others tell me that their Telus “high speed” Internet service is very slow at times.   A perfect example of the pot calling the kettle black   Just another couple of corporate crybabies looking to gouge the customer.  http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/11/18/bc-telus-rogers-lawsuit.html

Misleading facts , costs or hidden costs already too. Rogers scrapped its unpopular ‘System Access Fee’ earlier this year, but replaced it with a Government Regulatory Recovery Fee, and increased the price of some cell phone plans. “I suppose that they hoped by putting ‘Government’ in the title that people would assume the fee is legitimate,” quipped Virgin Group Chairman, Richard Branson and   “Bell, which owns 100% of Virgin, is the only carrier still charging a system access fee for new customers.” As for the Government Regulatory Recovery Fee, Rogers says it covers “provincial 911 fees, spectrum acquisition, licensing charges, and contribution charges to help subsidize telephone service in rural and remote areas.” It is about half the cost of the old System Access Fee, which is still charged by Bell Mobility (but not Virgin).

False misleading advertising has long time been made by Telus, Rogers, Bell and others in Canada whole the Ostrich federal consumer dperantmt, government did nothing.. I even wrote to you about THIS ISSUE  too and what it takes the courts to deal with everything now, AND so why do we need the  government ?

AND ANYONE WHO HAS TRIED TO DEAL WITH BELL SERVICE, COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT KNOWS HOW OBSTINATE, STONE WALLING, UNHELPFUL THEY MOSTLY CAN BE TOO..

It is an established, undeniable fact that at least 40 percent off Bell’s present, past customers have  been dissatisfied with the actual customer support they have received in Canada relating to cell phones, internet services, billings, etc. That is why many of them have gone elsewhere even to Videotron, Acanac, etc.  https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/bells-lies-vs-reality-again/

  
see also
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/06/14/buyer-beware-beware/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/09/09/skype/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/the-new-still-sad-unacceptable-reality/
 
 
 Many can see clearly that Rogers, Bell, Videotron, Shaw, Telus all only care about one thing.. maximum profits.. motivated by maximum greed..  mostly finding an excuse to charge the customer even for more.. and yes that they have done with their lies, distortions … and no one cares about integrity or  the citizens, consumer, the CRTC or the governments now included. 
  
Public exposure and prosecution of the guilty persons seems to be most effective way that works for everyone’s benefit in dealing with the bad acts of others still.

September 28, 2009

gross vehicular manslaughter while texting

 

  no texting

 Imagine that going  to jail now next for murder cause you used your phone in a car…  MURDER

https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2011/10/17/besides-the-police-undeniably-a-new-breed-of-killers-and-murderers-have-now-emerged/

 
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – An Orange County man accused of texting while driving and hitting and killing a pedestrian has been ordered to stand trial for gross vehicular manslaughter.
 
 .
 
When other drivers, police do  see you yakking on your cell phone, they  become immediately enraged by your obvious disregard for traffic safety, but they’ll be absolutely livid if they catch you texting while driving and it can lead to serious court charges too. It was all predictable before hand now as well
 
 car_texting
 

Texting While Driving Banned for Federal Workers New York Times – Federal employees will no longer be allowed to send text messages while driving government vehicles or when driving their own cars and using cellphones paid for by the government, according to an executive order signed Wednesday night ..

.

Gov’t seeks ban on texting truckers, bus drivers The Associated Press   families of victims of accidents caused by distracted driving, who urged the government to take a strong stance against cell phone use in vehicles, whether it includes a hands free device or not. They said technologies that prevent the mobile device from receiving e-mails or phone calls while the vehicle is in motion could help address the problem. “Everyone our age thinks we’re invincible,” said Nicole Meredith, 18, of Louisville, Ky., who totaled her car because she was texting while driving.

EDMONTON — When Tammy Henkel hits the road in Edmonton, she turns off her cellphone and stores it in the trunk until she arrives at her destination. That wasn’t always the case for the interior designer, but became a new, urgent, self-imposed rule in 2007 after her 70-year-old mother was hit and killed by an Edmonton Transit driver while she was crossing on a green walk light near the Edmonton Journal at 101st Street and Macdonald Drive. A court witness said the bus driver had been talking on her cellphone minutes before she made a right-hand turn directly into Norah Tomlin Henkel. The driver was fined $2,000, had her driver’s licence suspended for three months and was found guilty of careless driving and failing to yield to a pedestrian. 
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Together, Liberal British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec speak for three-quarters of Canadians.
Deborah Matis-Engle, 49, of Shingletown, was sentenced Friday to six years in prison for gross vehicular manslaughter for ramming into the back of a car in 2007 while she was texting on a cell phone. The collision lead to the death of Petra Monika WinnNathan Morgan/Record Searchlight

http://prisonmovement.wordpress.com/2009/04/04/woman-sent-to-prison-for-text-messaging-manslaughter/

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The B. C. government announced Tuesday that it plans to ban texting while driving. The new law will also prohibit new drivers from talking on their cellphones, while experienced drivers would be limited to the use of hands-free telephones, the Liberals said. “There’s lots of distractions in motor vehicles and we need to limit those distractions,” Solicitor General Kash Heed. Four provinces have banned the use of hand-held cellphones while driving: Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and Ontario  http://www.montrealgazette.com/cars/Coalition+urges+Alberta+cellphone+while+driving/2313344/Cells+texting+banned/1930860/story.html

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Washington Post – Computerworld – driving while distracted from using a cell phone or texting is “personally irresponsible and socially unacceptable behavior, but in the end we won’t make the problem go away by just passing laws … We cannot legislate behavior to get results to improve road safety.” All Laws also have to be enforced…
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Los Angeles Times – NewsHour  About a third of texting teens in the U.S. admit to texting behind the wheel, even though some said they thought it could hinder their ability to drive, according to a study by the Pew Research Center. The study by Washington, D.C.-based Pew polled 800 youth and found 82 per cent of those aged 16 to 17 have a cellphone and 76 per cent text. The poll suggests that overall, 34 per cent of teen texters aged 16 to 17 have texted while driving. The survey has an accuracy of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.  http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/11/16/consumer-teen-texting-pew.html
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Thankfully there’s a simple answer to this problem for anyone with an Android phone, like the T-Mobile MyTouch, a program called Textecution.

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Textecution is a program that runs on Android phones and uses the onboard GPS to know how fast the phone is moving. If it detects the phone traveling at speeds that indicate it is in a car, Textecution disables the texting functions of the phone.
But mooooom, your kid is sure to complain when you install this little application on their phone, “I need to be able to text when I am riding the bus to my soccer game! This isn’t fair!” That’s where Textecution moves from handy way to prevent teen texting to ingenious.

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If your teen is moving too fast, but not the driver, they can send a request for access which will alert you and let you enable their text messaging functions with a simple text reply.

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With more states putting texting while driving laws on the books, having a text addicted teen driver could get costly very quickly. Fines commonly start close to $100 and several states are trying to get laws passed that would make fines hundreds of dollars for a single offense.

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On top of fines, a single accident can easily cost a few hundred for a fender bender to several thousand for a crash, not to mention the increased insurance cost for years to come.

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Even though there’s nothing in place to stop your kid from removing Textecution from their phone, other than you knowing later, it is a useful tool for preventing texting while driving and keeping your kid safe and focused when they are behind the wheel.

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If you don’t have an Android phone to use Textecution with perhaps you should just sit your kid down to watch this, very graphic, PSA from the UK that explains the dangers of texting while driving in an unforgettable manner.

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Source

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/10/24/textecution-puts-an-end-to-teen-texting-while-driving/?icid=sphere_wpcom_inline

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Drink Alcohol and Die « The non conformer’s Canadian Weblog   Drink Alcohol and Die or Kill is fast becoming Canada’s preoccupation, main goal, slogan.. Alcohol and alcoholics the unacceptable main cause of vehicular  accidents, domestic violence, and so many other ills… DRUNK DRIVING  KILLS AT LEAST 5 TIMES MORE PERSONS OVER SPEEDING FIRSTLY  https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/alcohol-consumptiom-is-still-one-of-canadas-biggest-problem/
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Haste makes waste: cutting speed boosts drivers’ life expectancy: study  http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100201/national/speeding_life_expectancy
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Most accidents are caused by drunk driving and the doctor does not mention this still?? what was that? he was paid by the liquor industry not to? or was PAID BY MONEY MAKING REVENUE COPS TO SAY SPEED ALONE MAINLY KILLS.. HOW ABSURD.. THIS Canadian doctor.. and not a Canadian Traffic engineer uses now US statistics ONLY to say speed alone kills? and he what HE THUS HAD considered also the number of drunk, impaired, road rage  drivers, that seem to increase very year as a fact for most of the deaths NO MATTER WHAT THE SPEED?  or what this did not bother him.. only the number of people who speed?
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SPEED IS A MAIN FACTOR IN 5 TO 15 PERCENT OF THE ACCIDENTS.. AND WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE ACCIDENTS? THE 85 PERCENT.. it SEEMS THE DOCTORS IN UNITED KINGDOM CONTRADICT THIS CANADIAN DOCTOR IN THEIR TRAFFIC ACCIDENT STUDIES TOO.. SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW?  Preposterous COOKED results.. NOW get real..
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September 21, 2009

POOR SERVICES- ISP, Phone still an unacceptable reality

 Bell_Logo_2

Daily we are now being flooded Canada wide too with a host of new promised  services, and many new products available on the radio, on the internet, in the news media.. P2P USAGES https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/bittorrent-p2p-sites/
 
The marketing departments even of big three telecommunication firms providing internet and telephone services in Canada too : Bell , Rogers, Telus as well are still now clearly telling the  lies, spinning the truth, making typically past unkept promises  of the customer’s full satisifactions too, and  even now advertising at great costs, high costs that will be passed on the customers even,  all now done to try to win back many past lost unhappy customers, and to hopefully gain new customers, Being done basically because they are basically all UNWILLING TO FACE still OR to deal with THE ACTUAL REASONS MANY CUSTOMERS HAVE BECOME DISSATISFIED.
 
Every  company is guilty it seems to some extent of these sad, bad practices. No companies provide a FULL  service or an adequate  product it seems these days…. all they provide is profits for themselves hopefully. And as long as we allow them to do so, by letting companies and industries run roughshod over the governance of the country, then this will continue. Good Products and good services falsely are a distant second in offerings in relation to corporate profits.
The Canadian cellphone and internet speeds, rates among world’s worst, Canadians are being hosed for their access still too.
 
Do always  check your actual ISP speed http://www.acanac.ca/speedtest/  check for the blatant theft-corruption on a daily basis and ask them to fix it immediately as well..
 
 Rogers, Bell, Videotron, Shaw, Telus all only care about one thing.. maximum profits.. motivated by maximum greed.. finding an excuse to charge the customer for more.. and that they have done with their regulating, capping… and no one cares about what the consumer thinks, the CRTC included. 
 
and there are many many more valid complaints now too
 
Many customers do  feel they have been mislead, lied to, denied falsely the services they had been originally promised and instead now face extras for promised, even basic services, are very unhappy with the high prices, with what they see as unfair, restrictive trade practices, price fixings, price collusions, price gougings, suprise fees, failure to live up to agreed upon contracts, false contract terminations, even now  amongst the big three as well all being done while the governments lie  too and do  not stand up for,  do not Protect the citizens, consumers again and again. Unacceptable always too!
 
The governments and these firms now are really all fools, for the much too many dissatisfied angry customers, consumers, citizens do not merely now next disappear, or go away, rather they tend to they hold on to their resentments, and they tend to and will seek alternative means of revenge, back back now as well upon all of the immoral, pretentious persons too in reality. Do send a copy to the PM@gc.ca
 
 
 
 
see also
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/crtc-farcical-hearings-on-internet-speed-control/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/06/14/buyer-beware-beware
 
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/why-many-businesses-fail
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/deceptive-unacceptable-unfair-business-trade-practices-unreliable-internet-access 
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/06/14/class-action-suit-against-bell-sympatico
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/12/18/unfair
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/04/20/bell-internet
http://anyonecare.wordpress.com/2008/05/23/bell-bce-sympatico
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/05/01/is-your-isp-still-even-watching-you
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/the-war-against-bell
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/bell-throttles-internet-speeds
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/04/26/and
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/04/15/consumers-affairs
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/04/19/bell-lied
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/07/15/i-cannot-trust-you-for-you-lie-to-me-all-the-time
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/04/27/basic-contract-law
http://witnessed.wordpress.com/2008/07/29/this-next-was-so-predictable-even-by-me-too
 http://postedat.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/pay-back-revenge/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/federal-consumer-protection-ha-ha-ha/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/crtc-is-clearly-in-bells-bad-pocket/
https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/09/02/commissioner-for-complaints-for-telecommunications-services/
 

 PS: Also the Companies from different markets — or that themselves span multiple markets — can make more money in some instances by tying their offerings together, so that in order to use one, you also have to use the other. Although the approach is not without the occasional advantage for the consumer (cable companies say their practice of bundling stations encourages niche programming, for instance), consumers mostly chafe when their choice of a certain product or service restricts their choice in another area. ’Triple play’ packages for internet, phone and television – If your company owns technology for delivering television or telephone service, the internet represents a horrible monster set on destroying your market with its capacity to deliver all kinds of media over a single pipe. That’s why, if you’re smart, you bundle these offerings into packages that seem to offer lower costs, but in fact bind consumers to expensive habits — hopefully, for years to come, from these companies’ perspective. If you’re paying for phone and television along with your internet, you’re almost certainly less likely to.

 

ISPs and content providers,   or Cellphone carriers and cellphone manufacturers Most people know that the only reason you don’t pay the true cost of your cellphone hardware is that you have to sign a lengthy contract with a cellphone provider — a situation that is exacerbated by exclusive hardware contracts such as the one Apple signed with AT&T for the iPhone. If you want to use this particular piece of hardware, you have to use its exclusive partner or unlock your phone, voiding its warranty and risking having it “bricked” from afar as punishment for allowing the device to operate outside of its original network. Cooperation between cellphone manufacturers and service providers is nice, in that it lowers the initial cost of phones, but it has led to an inefficient market that discourages consumer choice, unless you count the option to switch networks and throw out your hardware every year or two. And this isn’t just about cellphones — the same is happening with netbooks. The relationship between carrier and manufacturer even extends to which apps your phone is permitted to run (see Google Voice and SlingPlayer).

 
CABLE COMPANIES AND SHADY POLITICIANS!!  PLEASE SHOUT THIS FROM THE ROOFTOPS!! Those of us in rural areas can’t even get cable, high speed internet, so why does it cost me extra taxes to get satellite…CABLE CORRUPTION IS ALSO RUNNING RAMPANT!!   http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/09/five-industry-collusions-wed-like-to-throw-down-a-black-hole
 
 
25 Years after breakup of the US AT&T: The American Telephone industry still lacks significant competition.   Twenty-five years after the breakup of AT&T, consumers have seen significant changes in how they make telephone calls, what they pay and the services they receive. Are we better off today than we were 25 years ago? The answer depends on who’s talking. Competition for AT&T service has not come from similar providers as was hoped when the government broke up the monopoly. Instead, it has come from companies offering mobile phone or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. But these services are different.  Many consumers are as dependent on mobile phones as they are on traditional land lines. Others still have phone service through a wire line, but that line might be connected to a cable TV system or directly to the Internet.Cell phones offer mobility, but require a wireless signal that is not available in many rural areas of Ohio. VoIP service requires a broadband Internet signal that also is not available to many Ohioans. Unlike traditional wire line service that operates even during extended electrical outages, wireless and VoIP services cannot operate after backup batteries, if any, are depleted. Moreover, the price and quality of cell phone and VoIP services are generally not regulated by state government compared to the way the Baby Bells’ services were. Cell phone service with unlimited calling is typically more expensive for consumers than wire line service. VoIP service requires consumers to pay a separate monthly fee for access to the Internet and a charge for VoIP service itself. Today, 25 years after it was broken up, AT&T and other telephone companies seek fewer regulations and less regulatory oversight from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). While price has been deregulated, in order to protect consumers, the terms and conditions of service should continue to be regulated. Similar regulations should be applied to wireless and VoIP services to protect consumers of those services as well. It is fairly typical that services that have been deregulated in terms of price still retain regulation of consumer protections. The OCC experts worry there is not nearly enough competition to drive down consumer costs and improve quality. Twenty-first century technology made construction and maintenance of telephone systems less expensive than 25 years ago, but prices are headed upward. We are fighting for consumers so they can benefit from cost savings. At the same time, we are advocating that all companies meet minimum telephone service standards. Long distance calling has become more affordable over the years as well. The OCC welcomes the development of new technologies and options for consumers, but believes consumer protections are needed to ensure fairness. http://www.pickocc.org/mediacenter/migden-ostrander/message/2009/june.shtml

Obama’s anti-trust cop Christine Varney is dusting off the Sherman Act and reviewing wireless companies’ exclusive handset deals–most notably AT&T’s monopoly control over Apple’s iPhone. The US  Congress is starting to wonder whether it’s fair business. Four senators—Kerry, Wicker, Dorgan, and Klobuchar—have sent a letter to the FCC requesting an examination of the wireless industry and whether this whole exclusivity thing is kosher. And  the commerce committee is corralling a bunch of wireless execs and researchers in Washington. They’ll chat about exclusivity and question whether it limits competition. It’s the first step in what could be a    regulatory road; one that could result in major shake-ups inside the cell industry. Congress is bringing this up now because rural cell phone companies have complained that exclusivity agreements are unfair to small carriers. When the national bullies have exclusive rights to a phone, the rural cousins do also  have to peddle inferior devices. The Justice Department may also review whether telecom carriers are unduly restricting the types of services other companies can offer on their networks and what is Canada, the CRTC doing as well? Nothing good!

 

August 12, 2009

Unacceptable merger between Bell and Telus

bell_logo_1

“A merger between Bell and Telus, two of Canada’s largest phone and internet companies, is looking “very likely” within the next two years, according to a report from RBC Capital Markets. The impending launch of new cell phone companies, the continuing trend of customers ditching their landlines, and the saturation of internet and television services are combining to eat away at growth opportunities for Bell and Telus, RBC analyst Jonathan Allen said in a research note to clients on Wednesday. Those factors are putting pressure on both companies to cut costs, something they could achieve better as a merged entity, Allen said. The spectre of increasing competition, particularly in wireless, should also ease regulatory and government concerns. A combined Bell-Telus would hold more than 60 per cent market share of the wireless business in six provinces, with the highest concentrations in the Atlantic provinces and Alberta. However, Allen said, the Competition Bureau tends to look at market power rather than just share. With competition set to increase, a merged company will see its ability to control prices lessen. “
 
“Do not allow mergers of these telecos.”
 
“Great!   Now they can join forces and price gouge Canadian cell phone users to death.”
 
“And of course the lap dog (aka CRTC) would allow this to happen to “protect” (rip-off) Canadian consumers, right?
 
 “On the plus side…..   Choosing a crappy provider for all your communications services will certainly become a lot easier!”
 
  “Just another blankety blank ( crappy) monopoly with little or no regulation as predicted when the de-regulation craze started almost 30 years ago.”
 
 http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2009/08/12/bell-telus-merger.html 

We are already now paying some of the highest costs in the world for their poor services, being gouged and they want to be allowed to falsely gouge us some more? Dream on.. Unacceptable

      For those wondering about the state of competition in Canada’s wireless world and where the CRTC stands on the issue, it is perhaps disheartening to read that the CRTC appears to believe the best competition to the established telecommunications companies include, well, the established telcos. 

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/technology-blog/2009/08/wheres_the_competition.html

see also

 

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