CRTC - Internet Traffic : Vancouver Sun

[Tape Splicer]

This item from the Sept. 23rd Vancouver Sun.
=================================================================================

CRTC to spread word about Internet traffic


BY MATT HARTLEY, POSTMEDIA NEWS SEPTEMBER 23, 2011



Canada's federal communications regulator plans to release quarterly updates on the traffic management practices of the country's largest Internet providers, and if any web service provider finds itself breaking the rules, the public is going to hear about it.

On Thursday, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued a release clarifying how it plans to deal with complaints from Canadians about how Internet service providers (ISPs) are managing web traffic on their networks.

Two years ago, the CRTC ruled that ISPs could employ traffic management practices - such as slowing down certain forms of peer-to-peer file transfers - in order to maintain a constant level of service on their networks.

Some ISPs - such as BCE Inc.'s Bell Canada - slow down or "shape" certain forms of Internet traffic in order to preserve the integrity of their networks.

The ISPs contend that certain applications, such as peer-topeer traffic, are used only by a minority of Internet users but can consume a great deal of bandwidth, slowing down web service for everyone else on the network.

Part of the 2009 CRTC ruling stated that ISPs had to be transparent about which traffic management practices were being employed.

"The policy sets out clear ground rules, which we expect all ISPs to follow," CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said in a statement.

"The guidelines we issued today will help Canadians understand which practices are permitted and how to make a complaint.

"We will require ISPs that are not following the rules to take corrective action as quickly as possible."

When the CRTC receives a complaint about an ISP's traffic management activities from a consumer, the complaint will be forwarded to the ISP.

After contacting the ISP, if the CRTC is not satisfied that the situation has been rectified, the CRTC will publish the name of the company and the nature of the complaint.

As well, the CRTC plans to publish a summary of the number and types of complaints it has received four times a year. The reports will include the number that have been resolved and the number which are still under investigation.

The release comes just a few weeks after the CRTC publicly admonished Rogers Communications Inc. for unintentionally throttling access to World of Warcraft - an intensely popular online video game with more than 11 million global subscribers.

A customer filed a complaint in February and in March, Canada's largest cable Internet provider admitted to the unintentional throttling.

In a letter to the CRTC dated May 31 Rogers claimed to have resolved the issue. However, the same customer who made the original complaint told the regulator in June that the solution had actually made the problem worse.

While Rogers disputes that most recent claim, the CRTC has told the company to figure out a plan before the end of the month to stop slowing down the speed of online games.

While some observers were encouraged by the news of the CRTC's plans, others - including University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist - feel the CRTC's guidelines unfairly put the burden of policing ISP behaviour in the hands of consumers.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun