Tech & Biz

Media Advisory: CRTC to Make Landmark Decision on Internet Freedom

by mtippett | November 19, 2008 at 04:33 pm

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Anyone who uses the Internet (this means you) should pay attention to this. This ruling will have implications for all Canadian media consumers, media companies and Canadian culture.

Media Advisory: CRTC to Make Landmark Decision on Internet Freedom
Decision to define Canada’s digital path

According to the CBC, after twice delaying the ruling, the CRTC will make a landmark decision on the Bell Throttling case by 9 a.m. tomorrow. The decision will determine whether Bell Canada has violated the Telecommunications Act by slowing down the Internet access it sells to wholesale customers.

Steve Anderson from SaveOurNet.ca coalition will be available for comment.

Steve said today, “This decision has huge implications for Internet service competition online innovation, consumer choice and free speech. The biggest battle over the Internet is yet to come, but this ruling will signal whether the CRTC is willing to take action to put Canada on a path that supports online innovation, and online choice. Otherwise the CRTC is abdicating its responsibility to Canadian people and putting us on a path towards a more closed Internet defined by the interests of big telecom companies.”

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Wordsnark

at 06:23 on November 20th, 2008

Yes, well the decision seems to have gone in favour of Bell. As I interpret the finding, Bell is abusing all its customers -- retail and wholesale -- equally.

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.