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To my family and friends,

I write to you today to make you aware of a serious issue that affects all of us and, to a greater extent, the future development of our planet and our ability to innovate and communicate as a race: Net Neutrality.

First, I will start with an explanation of what Net Neutrality is, as described by some of the best in the industry:

Google describes Net Neutrality as: "Network neutrality is the principle that Internet users should be in control of what content they view and what applications they use on the Internet. The Internet has operated according to this neutrality principle since its earliest days. Indeed, it is this neutrality that has allowed many companies, including Google, to launch, grow, and innovate. Fundamentally, net neutrality is about equal access to the Internet..."

Vint Cerf, the CIO of Google and the co-developer of the internet protocol (IP) - which is the foundation of Internet communications - takes it one step further by saying: "Allowing broadband carriers to control what people see and do online would fundamentally undermine the principles that have made the Internet such a success. ... A number of justifications have been created to support carrier control over consumer choices online; none stand up to scrutiny."

These people understand the importance of Net Neutrality, but the Internet Service Providers (ISPs), such as Bell Canada and Rogers Communications, are trying to change the rules. They have decided that they should be able to determine how and when people use the Internet. Bell, however, is the biggest enemy in this war as they are not just slowing down their own Sympatico retail customers, but are illegally forcing these policies on competitors using Bell�s copper wire (read: trapping the consumer).

Recently, they have both started throttling (slowing down) encrypted network traffic which includes Voice Over IP (VoIP) telephone services (such as Skype and Vonage), Virtual Private Networking (VPN), and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) applications (such as Limewire, Kazaa, and BitTorrent). This isn`t a minor slowdown, mind you. This is a service-breaking slowdown. All of these applications become completely unusable as they are being slowed down by a huge amount: at least 15 times. It�s the difference between 500KB/s or 30KB/s download speeds. To put that in perspective, something that used to take you 30 minutes to download will now take closer to 8 hours, your formerly crystal clear VoIP service will now stutter relentlessly, and connecting to the office network to get some work done at home is now impossible.

Now, I know a lot of people use these services frequently, but some of you may be thinking, �I don�t really use these services, so how does this affect me?� The answer will be determined by our actions now. The Christian Coalition in the United States is up in arms about this issue. Freedom of speech and ultimately, freedom of Religion are on the line. What happens when they decide the Bible is inappropriate for the Internet? If we let them get away with this, who knows what they�ll block next. It�s a slippery slope, and not one that will be easy to climb back up.

They say this is due to network congestion issues. Were this true, it would show a serious lack of preparation for the future on the part of these companies (which should have their share holders asking questions), but the fact is, their own data proves otherwise. Did you know that the rest of the civilized world is about to upgrade their Internet speeds to 100Mbps, if they haven�t already? And Bell is still struggling to provide 5Mbps? Supply and Demand is the very foundation of our economy, but these ISPs somehow think it doesn`t apply to them.

Another important point this raises is competition. If Bell is throttling VoIP telephone services, they are forcing you to use theirs. If they force broken policies on their retail Internet competitors, they force you to use Sympatico. If they are throttling P2P, they are forcing you to use ExpressVu. Recently, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), started making some of their television programming available online. The distribution method they chose? BitTorrent. As a result of the ISPs throttling the Internet, the only people that can see these shows, ironically, live outside of Canada.

Oh, and did I mention how they are accomplishing all of this? Through the use of a new technology called Deep Packet Inspection (DPI). DPI does just what it�s name suggests: it snoops into the information you�re sending or receiving so as to allow Bell to determine whether or not it is �appropriate.� This is a flagrant violation of Canada�s privacy laws and must not be tolerated. Canada recently received an award for being the #1 Country in the World for protecting personal privacy, with the United States and England ranking at the bottom.

Privacy violation is a serious issue. In fact, a major reason a lot of companies aren�t using Google�s new online office software is because of the privacy laws in the United States. The Patriot Act allows the US Government to access any information they want without obtaining permission or even notifying the effected party. Not a very comforting thought if you happen to be, let�s say, another nation�s government? Canada, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. This is why companies like Research In Motion (RIM) have been such a world-wide success. Leaders of most major countries (and their cabinet) carry BlackBerries. Every single BlackBerry e-mail passes through Ontario. Do you think these people would use this technology if they knew it was insecure? That the Canadian government was able to read every e-mail? And legally? Not very likely.

Finally, we need to take action to stop this. The Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP), representing 55 smaller ISPs, has filed a request with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to issue an immediate cease-and-desist order to Bell. Primus Communications has done the same. The National Democratic Party of Canada has been very vocal on the subject, so much so that they brought it to the Prime Minister`s attention recently in the House of Commons during Question Period.

These people are fighting to preserve a free and open Internet. Every voice deserves to be heard. Don`t let Bell decide whether or not yours should be.

For more information on how you can take action, visit:

http://www.StopTheThrottler.ca

Facebook Users, there are several groups you can join:

Stop The Throttler (Bell): http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10734109708

Stop Bell From Throttling DSL Resellers: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9221549245

Save Internet Freedom...: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15152470663

This is a very hot issue in the United States right now. For more information on that battle, and good information on what we�re fighting for, visit: http://www.SaveTheInternet.com

Also, feel free to forward this e-mail to everyone you know. It affects us all and we can�t let the big corporations pull the wool over our eyes.

Thank you for your time and support,