Not all that long ago, a lot of people thought that over the air TV and radio broadcast would be a thing of the past by now because it would all be shifted over to the internet.

What we’ve seen recently is a challenge to that assumption — streaming of video and audio on the internet has not become more affordable. ISP providers are constantly lobbying the government to end net neutrality so they can prioritize their own content and throttle the material they aren’t making profits from. And not everybody can get internet which is capable of streaming — there are still vast expanses in Canada are still dial up or from expensive satellite ISPs.

The good news is that the airwaves are still public property. So there are good reasons why communities should put up their own transmitters and generate content through the airwaves.

CACTUS Community Media has been working to establish community media centres, and most of their current membership have their own TV and/or radio transmitters. Join Dahne Jobson of the Toronto Community Media Network and Victoria Fenner of the CACTUS Community Media to find out how to get your own station on the air.