Feb 092009
 

I despaired last November when the CRTC denied the requests to ban Internet ‘Throttling’.

Even the U.S. has banned it.

HOWEVER!  I overlooked this statement: Based on an outcry of more than 1,100 submissions made to the CRTC, the federal regulator will hold a public hearing in July … 

DEADLINE for submissions to the public hearing:   FEBRUARY 16th.

The Chairperson of the CRTC is:  Konrad von Finckenstein.

Please – –  send this far and wide.  There needs to be as many emails and phone calls as possible.

(outdated section deleted)

 

I lodged my complaint and expectation that von Finckenstein is to provide leadership.  I was transferred to “client service”.

“Patrick” at client service didn’t think there is a big problem because they’ve only received 10 or 15 calls.

I asked “how many emails have you received on net neutrality or internet throttling?”   Reply:  He really doesn’t know.  (The answer is thousands upon thousands.)

 

I guess we have to make some phone calls, in addition to the emails!  (phone numbers no longer valid)

 

I have grown impatient.  I have expectations of government.

If you value equal access to the internet and are unfamiliar with the issue,  (link no longer valid)

Scroll down to the videos of Matt Thompson, for example.  He does an excellent job of explaining.

The CRTC is “in charge of regulating and supervising” Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications.  It is in charge of regulating Bell, Shaw and Rogers Communications. Its decisions around the internet are of very serious concern.

My view differs from some:

–  the air waves and radio waves are part of “the commons”.  They have the same status as water, our knowledge base, etc.

–  I worked for a Telephone Company for a relatively small number of years.  The sole responsibility of one department was to get more and more “rate increases” and concessions from Government regulators.  This department grew from a volkswagon beetle carload to an elite dining car trainload – just in the time I was there.  By now I shudder to think how large the department is.

–  We are powerful when connected with each other and with information. It ain’t smart to be stupid and inactive.  There is a great deal at stake.

==============================

NEWSPAPER REPORT, NOV 2008,  CRTC denies request to ban Internet ‘Throttling’

THE U.S. and OBAMA support “NET NEUTRALITY” – – see high-lighted information:

By David George-Cosh, Financial Post November 28, 2008

CRTC president Konrad von Finckenstein  Photograph by: Wayne Cuddington/Ottawa Citizen, Canwest News ServiceBCE Inc. may have won an important ruling on Thursday on how it controls its Internet services, but the debate over Canada’s role in managing its part of the world wide web has just begun.

Canada’s telecom regulator denied a request by the Canadian Association of Internet Providers to prohibit the slowing or “throttling” of Internet traffic, while also calling for public hearings on the broader issue of Internet traffic management.

“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 Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission chairman Konrad von Finckenstein.

In April, CAIP filed a complaint with the CRTC alleging that Bell’s slowing down of its wholesale Internet service was created a competitive disadvantage to the 50-odd companies it represents. In a later submission to the regulator, Bell countered, saying it needed to manage its network effectively to ensure its service would not be congested for its customers.

The decision closes one chapter in a long-awaited ruling that industry observers saw as a judgment on how fair Canada’s Internet is for consumers. But it opens another. Based on an outcry of more than 1,100 submissions made to the CRTC, the federal regulator will hold a public hearing in July to address the extent in which ISPs can manage traffic within the legislative guidelines.

Advocates of net neutrality — the principle that access to the Internet should not be controlled or hindered — should not give up hope just yet, said Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair of Internet and e-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa.

“The [CRTC] has clearly recognized that it was looking at a narrow slice of the network neutrality issue. It’s a very specific context on a specific service with limited number of players,” Mr. Geist said. “I think they realized this issue was bigger than that and therefore it has called for a full scale proceeding on the issue next year.”

Nonetheless, CAIP president Tom Copeland is disappointed in the ruling.

“It’s a very disappointing day not just for competition but should be for consumers as well,” Mr. Copeland said in an interview.

“The more that incumbent carriers are allowed to undertake in this behaviour, the further Canada falls behind in a number of Internet-related activities, whether that’s broadband penetration, competition or innovation.”

Bell’s chief of regulatory affairs, Mirko Bibic, applauded the decision and has no qualms about holding a public debate about net neutrality.

“One thing it will serve to do which will be useful for everyone is that it will avoid any future applications against us or any other ISPs for different things that may be done for the same reasons,” Mr. Bibic said.

A formal hearing in Canada over net neutrality follows in the footsteps of a ruling in September by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission that cable operator Comcast Corp. couldn’t delay some peer-to-peer traffic on its network.

The concept has also reverberated in Washington. President-elect Barack Obama campaigned on a pro-net neutrality platform while it is expected the Senate will introduce net neutrality into law and ban ISPs from blocking content next year.

Still, there remains frustration that Canada remains several steps behind their American counterparts when it comes to technology-related legislation.

“The communication regulator in [the U.S.] have already come out against traffic shaping … and yet Canada’s going to take until the end of next year before we have any position on it,” Mr. Copeland said.

© Copyright (c) National Post

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