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| Lobbying on 'net throttling' heads to Hill
CAIP says, "Bell has engaged in these throttling practices without providing a shred of evidence that its network is congested.">
By SIMON DOYLE
The Hill Times
Lobbying is heating up on Parliament Hill over the controversial issue of "traffic shaping" and "net throttling" as the CRTC analyses the evidence before it and determines whether to issue a "cease and desist" order to Bell Canada.
Tom Copeland, chair of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers, said he recently met with NDP MP Charlie Angus (Timmins- James Bay, Ont.), the NDP spokesman on digital culture; and Liberal MP Scott Brison (Kings-Hants, N.S.), the Liberal industry critic, to discuss the issue. On Wednesday last week he also met with senior staff in Industry Minister Jim Prentice's (Calgary Centre-North, Alta.) office, including Stephen Kelly, Mr. Prentice's senior policy adviser.
"I met with senior staff at the minister's office this morning," Mr. Copeland told The Hill Times on Wednesday last week, adding that the minister's office is, for the time being, expressing little about the issue. "They're appreciative of the information, but while it's in the hands of the CRTC they're being politically correct," he said.
The meetings come as parties await a decision from the CRTC on Bell Canada's "traffic shaping" of internet service. CAIP originally filed an application with the CRTC on April 3, and in a document filed on April 24, asked that an immediate order be issued on an "urgent and expedited basis" to prevent Bell from using technologies to "shape," "throttle," or "choke" internet access that it provides to wholesale competitors.
CAIP's application to the CRTC falls into the broader issue of "net neutrality," as internet service providers (ISPs) such as Rogers and Bell engage in traffic shaping on P2P networks. Some critics have called on the government to introduce legislation to ensure that ISPs act more as neutral "intermediaries" as opposed to distributors. The issue is heating up as the CRTC signals the inclusion of net neutrality in new media hearings to come in the fall.
The CRTC has acknowledged CAIP's complaint and said in a letter that, "given the circumstances of the case, an expedited process is appropriate." The deadline for the submissions has passed, and it's now up to the CRTC to issue an order or decision.
"Bell has engaged in these throttling practices without providing a shred of evidence that its network is congested or that its GAS [internet service] customers are the specific cause of any alleged network congestion," CAIP's CRTC submission says.
It says that Bell has been shaping or "throttling" activity on peer-to-peer networks, which are primarily used to exchange music, software, and movies. However, Bell has an obligation to sell network access to wholesale competitors at guaranteed speeds, CAIP argues, and those agreements are being violated. For instance, CAIP alleges that traffic shaping alters the "tariffed terms" upon which internet services are offered to wholesale customers, contrary to section 24 and subsection 25(1) of the Telecommunications Act.
"There's a number of tariffs and regulations we feel Bell has breached in this instance," Mr. Copeland said. The association adds that the P2P networks also exchange legitimate content such as Linux software, scientific data, and other software, games and communications.
In Bell Canada's response, filed on April 15, the company says that network congestion is a problem and that Bell is managing its network "in such a way that no customer, service or application consumes excessive bandwidth that may impede the use and enjoyment by other customers." It says its "network management" practise only applies during peak periods and that it does not apply to YouTube or internet radio. It also tells ISP customers to approach Bell about any suspected problems, it says.
Bell also stands firm that it is not violating any tariffs. "On the contrary, the company's traffic management measures are performed in a manner consistent with its tariffs and contractual obligations." Nor does Bell apply its traffic shaping to its own services any differently than competing services, it says.
But CAIP maintains that the issue is one of competition. "There is a serious issue that Bell has engaged in throttling at this time for reasons other than innocuous ‘network management' reasons, but rather with the intention of eliminating or reducing competition in downstream retail markets for Internet access and other services," its submission says.
Mr. Copeland noted that Mr. Angus has been supportive of CAIP on the issue of net neutrality, raising it in Question Period, but Mr. Brison has so far been more measured, and continues to gather information on the issue. Indeed the Liberals have been under some pressure to take a position. The National Union of Public and General Employees, for instance, last week called on the Liberals to support the principle of net neutrality in law.
"We're hopeful that we'll see a statement from him shortly, maybe not just on this specific issue but on the larger issue of net neutrality," Mr. Copeland said of Mr. Brison's position.
Mr. Copeland said he does not expect MPs or the government to try to influence the CRTC, an independent regulatory body, and that the meetings were merely intended to be educational. "It was more an education process," he said, adding that he is concerned that Mr. Prentice supports a deregulated approach.
Although major internet service providers such as TELUS, Bell, Cogeco and Rogers are not members of CAIP, Mr. Copeland said other large companies such as MTS Allstream Canada Inc., AOL Canada Inc., and Execulink Telecom are members affected.
He said the ISPs have been lobbying on the issue on the Hill, and that Bell, for instance, has a number of consultants working on the issue. "They have channels into the minister's office," he said. "We do know that Rogers has been working on it as well, because of course they've been traffic shaping on their retail network for some time. They've been quite busy on the Hill on this."
Bell Canada was not talking about the issue last week, referring to its CRTC submission. Under the Federal Accountability Act, lobbyists will soon be required to disclose with whom they meet in the senior levels of government. But when asked last week who Bell was meeting with on the Hill, spokeswoman Jacqueline Michelis wouldn't say. "We are meeting with officials in government on many issues all the time. This is still the most highly regulated industry in Canada and we are very conscious of the need to maintain positive relationships at every level of government across Canada," she wrote by email.
Bell also noted in its submission that "CAIP's request for an interim order should be dismissed in its entirety."
sdoyle@hilltimes.com
The Hill Times |
