CRTC to look at how Internet traffic is managed

[Michael Lauzon]

>From an article on CTV.ca:

MONTREAL -- How Internet service providers deal with thousands of
customers using their networks will come under scrutiny by the CRTC
starting this week with public hearings on their policies to manage or
shape the flow of user traffic.

The CRTC hearings will look at Internet traffic management practices
by service providers. Among ISPs testifying are Bell (TSX:BCE), Rogers
Communications (TSX:RCI,B), Telus (TSX:T) and Quebecor (TSX:QBR.B)

Independent Internet service providers say they are being penalized by
practices to limit some traffic.

"I have no way to change that experience," said Tom Copeland, head of
the Canadian Association of Internet Providers.

"It's out of my control," said Copeland, who provides Internet service
to about 3,500 customers on Eagle.ca. in Cobourg, Ont. He buys
wholesale Internet services from Bell.

The CRTC sided with Bell in a ruling last fall that stated the
telecommunications company was within its right to regulate the flow
of traffic on its network, but the commission agreed to hearings on
the issue.

Copeland's association filed a complaint in April 2008 saying that
Bell's attempts to regulate who has access to the Internet at peak
hours was an attempt to stifle competition and made it almost
impossible for its members to properly manage the services they
provide.

"It's hard to imagine that Bell's entire network across Ontario and
Quebec is consistently burdened between 4:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. seven
days a week, 365 days a year," Copeland said.

But, Bell successfully argued it was necessary to limit some traffic
because a relatively small number of users using peer-to-peer
networking were taking up more than half of the network's capacity,
slowing service for regular customers.

Copeland would like those who are using too much bandwidth and slowing
speeds for other customers to be dealt with individually.

"We don't target a class of people or a class or applications just
because we have a few rogues on the network who are abusing the
privilege."

Bell's Mirko Bibic, senior vice-president of regulatory and government
affairs, said the hearings are about traffic management and not net
neutrality.

"Those who claim that these practices violate so-called net neutrality
principles are being alarmist, can't point to any specific harm, and
are taking positions that ignore the realities associated with
building networks and operating them efficiently to ensure the best
possible customer experience," Bibic said.

Bibic noted the CRTC has said that Bell's traffic management practices
are appropriate and expects that to continue to be the case.

Bell Canada is scheduled to appear before the CRTC on July 13.

Analyst Iain Grant said owners of the networks must be allowed to
manage Internet traffic for the majority of their users.

"That principal is true in traffic on our streets, it's true in
traffic on our skies and I think it has to be true along the pipelines
that are the flow of information," said Grant of the SeaBord Group, a
technology research and consulting firm.

The Internet isn't "some romantic notion" and businesses are making
decisions to invest in their networks, Grant said.

Search engine giant Google will also be making a presentation at the
CRTC hearing as part of the Open Internet Coalition, which also
includes Amazon, Skype and eBay.

Lawyer Jabob Glick said the coalition doesn't want traffic management
that would restrict or affect software applications, noting that the
file sharing application BitTorrent has been targeted.

Glick said the coalition believes targeting applications would affect
innovation online and that pricing could help manage Internet traffic.

"We think the ISPs (Internet service providers) should have
flexibility in charging different kinds of amounts for different kinds
of usage," said Glick, Canadian policy counsel for Google Inc.

Rogers Communications said it wants an open Internet with few restrictions.

Traffic isn't shaped when a Rogers customer downloads a file or a
video, said Ken Engelhart, senior vice-president of regulatory.

"We give complete access to any content you want," Engelhart said.

But he said peer-to-peer file sharing applications that "swamp" the
network are managed, he said.


http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090705/crtc_internet_090705/20090705?hub=SciTech

-- 
Sincerely,

Michael Lauzon
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