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Net Neutrality / Internet Throttling Debate

cacruden

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Bell throttles its Internet competitors

Apr 01, 2008 04:30 AM
Michael Geist
special to the star

Canada's broadcast regulator has long acknowledged that Canadians enjoy limited competition for high-speed Internet services.

In response, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has supported independent Internet service providers, or ISPs, by requiring incumbents such as Bell Canada to provide wholesale broadband Internet service at regulated rates.

While it is difficult to compete on price – the Bell wholesale pricing creates an effective minimum price – independent ISPs such as Chatham-based Teksavvy and Ottawa's National Capital FreeNet have carved a niche in the Canadian market through attention to customer service, innovative bundling approaches, targeted network investments and community ownership.

Last week, this important piece of the Canadian Internet connectivity puzzle learned its future viability has been put at risk due to Bell's plans to "throttle" its wholesale services.

Last year, Bell began installing so-called deep-packet inspection capabilities into its network. The DPI capabilities, which allow ISPs to identify the type of content that runs on their networks, did not go unnoticed by the independent ISPs since such inspection is also used to, as the terminology goes, throttle Internet content by scaling back the amount of bandwidth allocated to particular applications.

While Bell employed these throttling technologies with its own Sympatico customers, some independent ISPs sought assurances it would not be applied to the wholesale services. Sources advise Bell responded positively that its plans were limited to its own customers. That was consistent with its 2003 assurance to the CRTC that it would only engage in limiting bandwidth for wholesale services "in cases of troubleshooting or to protect the network infrastructure from congestion resulting from malfunctioning or misconfigured equipment or malicious hacking."

Notwithstanding those commitments, earlier this month Internet chat boards began to buzz with rumours of throttling among independent ISPs. A Google Maps mashup was created, documenting instances of reduced bandwidth that stretched across the province.

The Toronto Star has learned that John Sweeney, Bell's senior vice-president of carrier services, sent a letter to the independent ISPs last Friday acknowledging that Bell has implemented bandwidth management from 4:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. for its wholesale customers. Sweeney admitted that peer-to-peer applications will not work as fast during this period, but argued that "a majority of end users will experience an increased level of satisfaction."

While much of the initial commentary has focused on the implications for consumer rights, that discussion misses the more important aspect of this story, namely that Bell's plans undermine the Internet's competitive landscape by raising three concerns.

The effect on ISP competition, particularly in Ontario and Quebec, points to the first competition issue. Simply put, wholesale level throttling lessens the ability for independent ISPs to differentiate their services and therefore compete in the marketplace.

Indeed, critics argue that this is intentional since Bell's decision to throttle its own residential customers enabled the independent ISPs to attract dissatisfied subscribers.

By throttling everyone, Bell may be trying to recapture lost customers.

The second competition concern is the effect on ISP services such as the secure virtual private networks used by companies and video streaming employed by many broadcasters. With DPI and throttling in place, Bell may soon be positioned to implement premium pricing for services that business currently takes for granted, thereby raising costs and cutting independent ISPs out of the picture.

The third competition concern brings a cultural dimension to the issue. The major ISPs claim that throttling is needed to ensure better quality of service to all customers, yet it also has a significant impact on the video marketplace. Cable and satellite companies have begun to sell new video on demand services to consumers, which compete directly with video distributed over the Internet.

For example, last week the CBC used BitTorrent to distribute one of its programs, yet some subscribers reported that the episode took hours to download. The slow speeds were no accident. Rather, they were a direct result of ISPs limiting available bandwidth, something they do not do for their own video services.

These conflicts point to the need for action from Canada's regulators. Recent regulatory attention to the issue in the United States has paved the way for commitments to treat content equally. Canadians deserve – and should demand – nothing less.
 
My Letter to Industry Minister

I am actually riled up enough to write the industry minister....

Hon. Jim Prentice,

Bell Canada has started throttling (restricting) the internet service of competitive internet service providers (in my case Teksavvy). According to their letter to these ISPs they are doing it for my own good. This is a lie of unmitigated gall. They say that it only affects a few “hogs†that must be restricted so that the rest of us will be better off. They say that there is too much volume on the network and that there is a shortage of bandwidth so unfortunately they have to do this.

Teksavvy only leases lines from the “last mile†(government subsidized local loop) from Bell (under CRTC tariff), which connects to their own internet lines (Teksavvy has made a large investment in infrastructure based on the promise that they would be able to compete). There is no shortage of infrastructure at this point in the system.

The only logical conclusion that I can come to is that Teksavvy (and other ISPs) are offering a service that is a competitive threat to several of Bell offerings (Video on Demand, and Long Distance), and that rather than compete on a level playing field they have decided to sabotage the competition. If this discriminatory action is allowed to stand, it will damage the ability for Canada to compete in the "new economy".

I am nowhere close to being a bandwidth hog. I use the internet for a few
things (web surfing, VOIP using Skype, email, and logging into work remotely).
I use Skype to keep in contact with family (some of whom work for the Canadian Government overseas), and this service has become unusable. The connection from home to work has been severely degraded (I had a better connection to work from overseas). The fact is that I had better internet service in a Third world country than in Canada.

Unfortunately I have very little faith in the CRTC since they have typically been uninterested in protecting the consumers, but rather interested in protecting Canadian corporate interests from international competition.

Unlike others that rely on a competitive environment to provide reasonable internet services, I have the option to lease my own line (much higher cost) to get a reasonable service (at an unreasonable cost). I will of course have to stop giving money to the Conservative Party so that I can pay for said service.

Sincerely,

x
 
Bell Canada thanked me for my loyalty :eek:

Got a call from Bell Canada (think they tried a week ago) because I showed up on the radar screen because I signed up with Teksavvy a few weeks ago (previously a Rogers customer). They thanked me for my loyalty and tried to sell services from Bell Canada. I told them that I was in the process of moving my phone services away, and I felt I could not deal directly with Bell Canada because of their policy towards third party DSLs. They then tried to sell me on moving to Bell Sympatico, and mentioned Expressvu for Condo's. I told him I investigated Expressvu for Condo's before and it did not support HDTV so it was not an option. They mentioned pending (short term) upgrades coming to the building shortly. I reiterated my aversion towards Bell and I felt I could not morally do business directly with Bell Canada anymore. He thanked me for my time and then gave up.
 
investigated Expressvu for Condo's before and it did not support HDTV so it was not an option
I believe it now does (or will very soon). New buildings in Toronto are being marketed with Bell ExpressVu paraphernalia that says ExpressVu for Condos does support HDTV.
 
sadly, this isn't an april fools joke :(
 
I'm on Velcom and I've noticed my net speeds have dropped during peak times in the evening...

This morning though, I was still downloading last night's Daily Show torrent at 450kb/s.
 
I'm on Velcom and I've noticed my net speeds have dropped during peak times in the evening...

This morning though, I was still downloading last night's Daily Show torrent at 450kb/s.

That would be Bell Canada trying to kill the competition (previously it was limited to their customers, but some left -- so they had to catch them and squish them) .... you will likely see your line throttled down to 30K from 300K - 400K.

But to make you feel better - they are doing this for YOU -- this is Bell's response....

In 2007, Bell Canada launched internet traffic management for our Sympatico residential customers during peak periods of Internet usage (4:30 p.m. – 2:00 a.m.) to ensure we deliver bandwidth fairly to all customers during peak Internet usage. Last week, we initiated similar traffic management for our wholesale users as well.
Bell’s congestion and bandwidth management solutions apply to our entire DSL PPPoE (Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet) network, including both retail and wholesale services. To ensure optimal use of Internet network resources for all of our customers Bell has implemented Data Packet Inspection (DPI) on P2P file sharing and bit torrent applications. DPI identifies the packet mapping, but does not monitor, track, or access the data of your customers who are using P2P applications. Your customers can continue to use P2P services but they will not work as fast during peak periods. All other application functionality is not affected.
We understand the difficulty this action has caused for you and your customers who are P2P users, but the majority of your end users will experience an increased level of satisfaction. We regret the fact that we did not advise you in advance of taking this action, but the action was necessary to allow for a more fair allocation of bandwidth for all Canadian internet users.
Regards, John Sweeny
 
Wow. Well then, hopefully somebody will come around and start offering high speed internet in this country. I'm so glad I'm with Telus, and that they've actually chosen to invest in infrastructure rather than try to force people to use the Internet like it's 1998. Our regulators are an absolute joke.

Not to mention cell phones. They're more expensive now than they were five years ago!
 
The communication infrastructure is being run by dinosaurs.
 
The communication infrastructure is being run by dinosaurs.


s-flinstonecomp.jpg
 
Surprise!!

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/NEWS/RELEASES/2008/r081120.htm

News release

November 20, 2008
CRTC denies CAIP application, but will examine
Internet traffic management practices

OTTAWA-GATINEAU — The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today announced that it has denied the Canadian Association of Internet Providers’ (CAIP) request that Bell Canada cease the traffic-shaping practices it has adopted for its wholesale Gateway Access Service. However, in the future, Bell Canada will be required to notify its wholesale customers at least 30 days in advance of making changes that impact on the performance of its Gateway Access Service.

“Based on the evidence before us, we found that the measures employed by Bell Canada to manage its network were not discriminatory. Bell Canada applied the same traffic-shaping practices to wholesale customers as it did to its own retail customers,” said Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C., Chairman of the CRTC.

“CAIP’s application asked us to only consider the specific issue of wholesale traffic shaping within a specific context. The broader issue of Internet traffic management raises a number of questions that affect both end-users and service providers,” added Mr. von Finckenstein. “We have decided to hold a separate proceeding to consider both wholesale and retail issues. Its main purpose will be to address the extent to which Internet service providers can manage the traffic on their networks in accordance with the Telecommunications Act.”

The growing popularity of certain Internet applications, such as online video, can lead to network congestion. To deal with this congestion, some Internet service providers (ISPs) are managing the flow of traffic on their networks or adopting new business models. In the case of the CAIP application, the
Commission’s assessment of traffic shaping was limited to Bell Canada’s practice of slowing down the transfer rates of peer-to-peer traffic at certain times of the day.
Public proceeding

The Commission has launched a proceeding to examine the current and potential traffic management practices of ISPs operating in Canada. This proceeding will include a public hearing starting on July 6, 2009, in Gatineau, Que. The CRTC has invited comments on a number of specific questions. Some of these questions are related to:

* changes in bandwidth consumption that may lead to network congestion
* Internet traffic management practices based on technical solutions or business models that are currently available or may be developed in the future, and
* the impact of such practices on end-users.

In addition, the Commission will try to establish the criteria to be used in the event that specific traffic management practices need to be authorized.

Interested parties may submit their comments by February 16, 2009. They may do so by filling out the online form, by writing to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N2, or by fax, at 819-994-0218. The Commission also plans to hold an online consultation to allow the public the opportunity to discuss the issues and questions related to the Internet traffic management practices of ISPs.
The CRTC

The CRTC is an independent public authority that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada.

Telecom Public Notice CRTC 2008-19 [.pdf]
Telecom Decision CRTC 2008-108 [.pdf]

- 30 -

Media Relations:
MediaRelations, Tel: 819-997-9403, Fax: 819-997-4245

General Inquiries:
Tel: 819-997-0313, TDD: 819-994-0423, Fax: 819-994-0218
Toll-free # 1-877-249-CRTC (2782)
TDD - Toll-free # 1-877-909-CRTC (2782)
On-line services

These documents are available in alternative format upon request.

Date Modified: 2008-11-20
 
Really I actually agree with this decision. Companies like Teksavvy can get their own equipment to hook up to Bell's network to avoid the throttling, but they choose not to. Bell operates and pays for this network, so they can do whatever they like with it.

The real decision regarling throttling, which isn't just Bell, but other ISP's are also doing it, will not be until next year. Lame. Stupid CRTC. They're a waste of space.
 
Just imagine...without the CRTC.

making a phone call on your cell phone would open someone's garage, playing with a remote control car would change another guy's TV channel, when you'd pick up the land line phone, you'd hear the faint sounds of a few radio stations mixed together and when the person in the apartment next door uses their vibrator, your television would get scrambled and you'd miss the money shot in the porn you were just watching on the CBC.
 

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