isps: CRTC to decide if limiting traffic is legal practice
Province
Many Internet users are upset by the changes introduced by Bell.
TORONTO — The Canadian Association of Internet Providers filed an application to the federal telecom regulator last week requesting it direct BCE Inc. to cease and desist from “throttling” wholesale Internet traffic, which has degraded its services “beyond recognition.”
The CRTC will now decide whether such practices are lawful and could have far-ranging implications for any Canadians that are heavy Internet downloaders.
The move is the latest salvo in a contentious debate that started several weeks ago after Bell told its wholesale ISP customers that it has begun to limit bandwidth to users that engage in peer-to-peer downloads during peak usage hours. So-called “net neutrality” advocates argue that the bandwidth “throttling” or “shaping” practices violate basic tenets of the Internet by dictating how users access content.
“Bell is wrong on so many levels with what they are doing that it has not only the wholesale customers upset, it has Canadian Internet users at large incredibly upset,” said Tom Copeland, CAIP chairman and owner of Eagle.ca, a Cobourg, Ont.-based independent ISP.
In the 56-page filing, the CAIP argues that Bell has to comply with a prior CRTC ruling to ensure its wholesale offerings are resold based on market forces. Copeland worries that if the association is forced to adhere to Bell‘s actions it will now be at a competitive disadvantage.
“It really sounds scary,” said Copeland. “Bell has unilaterally, and without permission from the regulator, implemented changes to the tariffs and contracts that have not been approved.”
He adds that more than 55 independent ISPs and about 100,000 subscribers could be impacted.
Mirko Bibic, Bell‘s chief of regulatory affairs, said the company plans on contesting CAIP’s application to the CRTC and argues that it needs to use technology to better balance web traffic during peak traffic usage.
“The fundamental problem is that close to 95 per cent of subscribers are negatively impacted by a very small minority of Internet users,” said Bibic.
A spokesman from the CRTC declined to comment on the matter until a final ruling is made.
Industry observers say it is unlikely the general public will be aware of drastic changes to their online activities, but the issue is creating awareness that their ISPs have the ability to monitor the traffic that flows through its servers, which was normally assumed to be anonymous.
“It kind of disturbs [Canadians] because it has a Big Brother connotation to it,” said Kaan Yigit of Solutions Research Group.
As peer-to-peer usage becomes more mainstream with the advent of online video incorporating the technology, Yigit said, Canada‘s major ISP carriers could face a dilemma on how to structure a profitable business model while managing much higher levels of traffic.
© The Vancouver Province 2008
