Brereton55
join:2008-04-29
Beaconsfield, QC
| English essay on Bell
I have decided to write my editorial piece about Bell Canada. I am currently in 10th grade and this is a very rough draft. Please tell me what you think and any suggestions.
About a month ago the media giant Bell Canada started a practice known as internet throttling. This practice involves inspecting all data that an internet user accesses and slowing down some of it. This practice was used in the United States last year by the internet giant Comcast. After sufficient user complaint the matter came before the FCC (American equivalent to CRTC) and they ruled it unconstitutional. This is a major issue because the CRTC is doing nothing about it; they have stated that they want the market to fix itself. However the market cannot fix itself if there is barely any other competition.
The issue of internet throttling has raised many other questions as well though. What is legal for an ISP (Internet Service Provider) to do and what is not, but because of the internet infancy nobody really understands it. So the ISPs are free to go and do whatever they want because nobody in government actually understands the internet.
Shortly after Bell started to throttle internet and neglect to tell customers, people started to figure it out. When pressured to answer why they are doing it, Bell stated that heavy usage users were eating up all the bandwidth. This is understandable except for the fact that those users pay for unlimited bandwidth.
Bell has stated that the problem is their network just cannot handle all the bandwidth that people are using. This would be understandable if Bell was actually spending decent money on developing and maintaining their network. However, according to financial information in the year 2007 Bell spent an all time low on infrastructure upgrades.
They have oversold their bandwidth and now they’re trying to cover it up by limiting power users. If Bell wants to handle this situation legally then they need to explain to people that they have oversold bandwidth and they need to start to upgrade their network. Instead they have taken the easy approach, they will not be upgrading their network instead they will be limiting people who actually use their internet connection for other things besides email.
Bell has also brought up quite a few legal issues with this throttling. In order to throttle internet connections Bell has to inspect every kilobyte of data that is sent to your computer. This means that a computer program has access to all your potentially private information. Bell has absolutely no right to inspect the data you download to your computer. If the government of Canada passes a lot that they want this then fine, but until that day a private company has no write to scan your files. Canada post has no write to read the letters they deliver to you and Bell Canada should have no right to read the data that is delivered to you.
False advertising is on the table as well, some people who purchase a speed of 1.6MBs are only receiving 0.03MBs this is disgraceful. That is barely faster than dial up and the Canadian government has funded the development of high speed connections not slow speed connections.
For the past couple of years Canada has been ahead of the United States in terms of average internet speed. However, due to internet throttling Canada is all, but doomed to fall behind our neighbors to the south.
Bell Canada is a massive internet company they own most of the telephone cable across Canada and this is the means that most internet connections come to most homes. Ever since the 1980s, Bell has been required to resell some of the space on the lines so that competition can take place. After starting the process of internet throttling though Bell decided to also throttle the internet connections of all of its resellers. Bell has no right to do that they are mandated by the CRTC to sell the lines and any changes on it are up to the reseller not Bell.
The problem with throttling all of the smaller internet companies is that it is incredibly anti-competitive. Instead of just simply switching from Bell, now consumers have no choice when it comes to non throttled internet, except for cable which isn’t available in all areas.
For the past hundred years Bell Canada has been one of the biggest and most important companies in all of Canada. However, recently they have betrayed the trust of consumers across Canada with illegal business practices. It is time for Canadians to do something about it, switching from bell will do nothing. People must do their part and write to their local Member of Parliament and demand change. They must write to the CRTC and demand that action be taken against Bell and all other throttling companies. It is time for Canadians to take a stand and demand their right to browse the internet at a high speed. |
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Glen1
These Are The Good Ol' Days.
Premium,MVM
join:2002-05-24
GTA Canada
 ·Bell Sympatico
edit:
May 11th, @09:53PM
| "passes a lot" or passes a law?
"company has no write" or company has no right
"Canada post has no write" or Canada Post has no right
Also Bell Canada does not own most of the telephone cable across Canada, they are primarily in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces under the company name of Bell Canada and Bell Aliant. Just a point of clarification.
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My Canada includes Quebec. |
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mordin
42 inches of 1080p
Premium
join:2005-05-28
Moncton, NB
| reply to Brereton55
said by Brereton55  :In order to throttle internet connections Bell has to inspect every kilobyte of data that is sent to your computer. They don't 'inspect' all the data sent to your computer. The way it's suppose to work is they do check to see what protocol is being used in the data transfer and when BT or P2P is detected that traffic is throttled.
Are you anti-Bell? You fail to mention anything about Rogers. They started throttling long before Bell AND if your area is throttled it's 24/7 not just prime time like Bell.
said by Brereton55 :The problem with throttling all of the smaller internet companies is that it is incredibly anti-competitive. I could see this being called anti-competitive if Bell was throttling the resellers and not their own network. If everyone is throttled it's a level playing field with DSL. If Bell is ordered not to throttle resellers wouldn't that but Bell in a at a competitive disadvantage?
False advertising?? That's pushing things. DSL has always been a distance/line quality dependent connection. Also, network upgrades are massive, costly & take time to both plan and implement.
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Intel P4 2.8 800 fsb, Asus P4P800 w/1GB PC3200 DDR RAM, 512 MB GeForce 7600GT, SB Audigy Gamer, DVD-Rom/CD-R Burner & LG Duel layer DVD Burner, 320 & 120 GB Internal & 2x 250 & 3x 500 GB External hard drives & Samsung 226BW 22" LCD Monitor |
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Brereton55
join:2008-04-29
Beaconsfield, QC | reply to Brereton55
Thank you for the help I wrote this pretty fast and so somethings got mistyped. |
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sbrook
Premium,Mod
join:2001-12-14
H0H 0H0
 ·Rogers Hi-Speed
Host:
Rogers
Bell Canada
| reply to mordin
said by mordin :said by Brereton55 :In order to throttle internet connections Bell has to inspect every kilobyte of data that is sent to your computer. They don't 'inspect' all the data sent to your computer. The way it's suppose to work is they do check to see what protocol is being used in the data transfer and when BT or P2P is detected that traffic is throttled. Are you anti-Bell? You fail to mention anything about Rogers. They started throttling long before Bell AND if your area is throttled it's 24/7 not just prime time like Bell. said by Brereton55 :The problem with throttling all of the smaller internet companies is that it is incredibly anti-competitive. I could see this being called anti-competitive if Bell was throttling the resellers and not their own network. If everyone is throttled it's a level playing field with DSL. If Bell is ordered not to throttle resellers wouldn't that but Bell in a at a competitive disadvantage? False advertising?? That's pushing things. DSL has always been a distance/line quality dependent connection. Also, network upgrades are massive, costly & take time to both plan and implement. Anti-competitive because Bell throttled their own customers first, then started losing customers to the resellers, and then throttled the resellers.
False advertising ... or misleading advertising. Definitely misleading. False? Possibly because precious few can achieve the maximum speeds. False because the speeds advertised are NOT the max end user data rate, but rather the modem synch rate, where cable for example IS the end user data rate. |
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Slot Zero
join:2003-08-13
Kingston, ON
·Bell Sympatico
·TekSavvy Solutions..
| reply to mordin
said by mordin :False advertising?? That's pushing things. False advertising as in "Unlimited downloads" comes to mind. I'd have to guess that's definitely false and misleading advertising. |
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Glen1
These Are The Good Ol' Days.
Premium,MVM
join:2002-05-24
GTA Canada
·Bell Sympatico
| reply to Brereton55
Please take a look at this thread, you may want to include it with your essay: »CIPPIC Files Privacy Complaint Against Bell for DPI
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My Canada includes Quebec. |
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Candoo3
join:2005-01-24
·TekSavvy Solutions..
| reply to Brereton55
Reading your essay, you have a pretty good grip of the situation. My teen, also in grade 10, has written a few articles for the school paper, informing fellow students and staff of what has transpired. Amazing how fast the word can get around between teens and their friends, between schools, who then bring their parents up to speed. Teens can be very influential. It's good to see you have a keen interest in the issue. BTW, posting in a public forum on this topic, you will get non-constuctive criticism. My teen says to just let it "slip-slide", and "stick to your personal opinions and beliefs" based on evidence.  |
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andyb
Premium
join:2003-05-29
SW Ontario
·Bell Sympatico
·TekSavvy Solutions..
| reply to Brereton55
I agree with most of your stuff but,one thing sticks out in first paragragh about crtc doing nothing.They will make a decision soon and its only been a few weeks.For a gov department this could be a record if its issued this month.They have had tons of complaints and negative letters sent by other companies that I think the crtc will see the light. |
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Deadpool
Go Sens Go
Premium
join:2001-03-29
Canada
·Bell Sympatico
| said by andyb :I agree with most of your stuff but,one thing sticks out in first paragragh about crtc doing nothing.They will make a decision soon and its only been a few weeks.For a gov department this could be a record if its issued this month.They have had tons of complaints and negative letters sent by other companies that I think the crtc will see the light. Agreed as well. I would ammend to state "This is a major issue currently before the CRTC."
Also, I don't think the FCC made any ruling in regards to whether what Comcast was doing was "unconstitutional". In fact, the FCC made it clear their involvement was in regards to the fact that Comcast lied about throttling, not because they were throttling - two distinct differences. |
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andyb
Premium
join:2003-05-29
SW Ontario | I forgot that when I did my thing but the fcc never ruled on anything.Comcast did it on thier own because they were gonna lose.The fcc ruling for the ISP's will come when....maybe after the election?Who knows,it is the US after all. |
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fix my grammer
@videotron.ca
| reply to Brereton55
said by Brereton55 :About a month ago the media giant Bell Canada started a practice known as internet throttling. Correction:
(The throttle didn't start 1 month ago, the WHOLESALE throttle started 1 month ago). Here is some more info you may want to consider.
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About 6-months ago Bell started a practice known as internet throttling.
In the 5 (plus or minus) months that followed, many sympatico users dropped their sympatico internet and left to go with the wholesale ISP (IE. the competition).
Due to so many people leaving Bell, due to the throttle and the false advertizing of unlimited, Bell decided about one month ago to also throttle the competition to make them less attractive to users and to try and keep a more users from leaving Bell-Sympatico.
Bell spewed lies to the media (numbers not significant to Canada) and also lied more by saying only heavy P2P users are throttled and the light P2P users are not. They were making these bold face lies to the media while everyone was indeed throttled (heavy & light users). It should also be noted that not just P2P was throttled, but also VOIP, VPN, FTP, and certain online games to name just a few.
All this to make people believe they are not throttled (when in fact they were) and to use the media as a propaganda tool to try and make people believe their network was congested.
But, the reason that is becoming clear is that Bell is out to stiffle the competition and also stiffle content & content delivery innovation such as the CBC release of the "next great prime minister".
and so forth... |
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LE
@acanac.net
| reply to Brereton55
Hi Brereton55 - I appreciate greatly your work. Thank you.
Your essay MADE THE POINT on how disgusting and low the game Bell was playing. Of course with the help of all net-fellows, the technical details (like DPI, throtling, competition with wholesalers ...) can be re-visited with more precision.
All in all, while a lot other people just complaint on the specific subject of speed/throtling, or efficiency of tech support ... You unveiled clearly the deception doctored by Bell management.
In the past year, Bell invoiced numerous (and numerous !) clients with bogus higher amounts, causing the clients to repeatly ask for corrections to their bills. During that same time, ONT Teachers Fund was talking of investing in Bell. The Teachers got reports from Bell showing a higher revenue... Bell executives got credit/bonus for higher sale price, higher revenue, while clients and their own employees pulled their hair due to frustration.
Deception was done on a massive scale. Correction (of the bill) will be done on a case-by-case basis. For those who are too busy to call, Bell will pocket that money.
This situation should NOT be discussed SOLELY in Small Claim Court, should NOT be answered SOLELY with demonstration in Ottawa... Brereton55 is right about : CRTC needs to step in, Fed Government needs to trace down to the ones who ordered these acts of defrauding the public / population. |
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Pegasys66
join:2008-01-16
·TekSavvy Solutions..
| reply to mordin
It is funny how some Sympatico apologists keep talking about the unfairness of independant ISPs not being throttled and the need for a level playing field...They just conveniently forget that Bell is responsible for bringing that playing field down into the gutter...
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"I do not agree with what Sympatico is doing, but I will fight to the death for their right to do it to their own users."
And leave us alone!!! |
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mordin
42 inches of 1080p
Premium
join:2005-05-28
Moncton, NB
| reply to LE
said by LE :
In the past year, Bell invoiced numerous (and numerous !) clients with bogus higher amounts, causing the clients to repeatly ask for corrections to their bills. During that same time, ONT Teachers Fund was talking of investing in Bell. The Teachers got reports from Bell showing a higher revenue... Bell executives got credit/bonus for higher sale price, higher revenue, while clients and their own employees pulled their hair due to frustration.
So you're saying these 'billing mistakes' was a calculated plan by Bell to artificially inflate their revenue so the company would look good to the Teacher's Pension Fund and the execs could get bonuses? Get Real! 
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Intel P4 2.8 800 fsb, Asus P4P800 w/1GB PC3200 DDR RAM, 512 MB GeForce 7600GT, SB Audigy Gamer, DVD-Rom/CD-R Burner & LG Duel layer DVD Burner, 320 & 120 GB Internal & 2x 250 & 3x 500 GB External hard drives & Samsung 226BW 22" LCD Monitor |
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mordin
42 inches of 1080p
Premium
join:2005-05-28
Moncton, NB
| reply to Pegasys66
For your information I have no connection to Bell except that I did work a year in 1 of the outsourced call centres and that was over 3 years ago. I'm not in Ont & the closest I can get to having Bell is any Aliant services, of which I have none.
Sure the network is Bell's responsibility - it's their network that they were forced to open up to 3rd party resellers by the CRTC. Now do you think it would be a fair and level playing field if Bell had to throttle it's own customers while all the 3rd party ISPs are allowed to offer un-throttled connections? All that would happen then is the big down loaders, BT & P2P users would move to the 3rd party resellers, the last mile would still be congested and EVERYONE (Bell & 3rd party customers) would suffer the effects.
I'm with Rogers and they throttle 24/7 if they have the boxes in your area. Even with that I'm able to get what I want through 3rd party Newsgroups and some P2P. Starting next month I'll be charged for anything I DL over 95 gigs. Do I like it? No, but it's not a public service, it's their network. There's no 3rd party resellers here down east so I will put up with it until things change or something better comes along. Shouting, moaning or spouting conspiracy theories isn't going to change a thing.
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Intel P4 2.8 800 fsb, Asus P4P800 w/1GB PC3200 DDR RAM, 512 MB GeForce 7600GT, SB Audigy Gamer, DVD-Rom/CD-R Burner & LG Duel layer DVD Burner, 320 & 120 GB Internal & 2x 250 & 3x 500 GB External hard drives & Samsung 226BW 22" LCD Monitor |
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BryceS
join:2007-09-17
Woodstock, ON
| reply to Brereton55
Your going to get 0% as there is no bibliography (list of sources).
Bell Canada's wireline service is predominantly east of Manitoba (if you include Aliant), so they don't own the telephone cable out west.
BCE et al. financial results, CRTC document about how Bell has to give access to wholesalers, quoting Bell spokesmen, etc. need to be cited.
This is English, so you are most likely using MLA format. Google "Owl Purdue" for a good website for format outlines.
Most schoolboards will also suspend students that plagiarize.
There is more, but I have a calculus assignment to complete and it needs my attention.  |
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Pegasys66
join:2008-01-16
·TekSavvy Solutions..
edit:
May 14th, @02:11PM
| reply to mordin
I never said you had any connection to Bell I guess you are an apologist to any corporation that takes advantage of their monopoly.
Bell has up until now failed to prove there was any congestion on "Their Network".
I seem to have read somewhere that Bell's copper infrastructure was heavilly subsidized over the course of the last 100 years by the tax payers...If they want to keep it, I suggest they pay us back retroactivelly and pro-rata so that we can get a new infrastructure (they could then do as they wish with their toys).
P.S.:My apologies to the OP if his thread as been hijacked by us tinfoilhat wearing geeks, as you can see this is a very important issue that must be adressed by our government if we want to remain in the 21st century.
Bell has made it very clear that they don't want heavy users:only e-mail and casual browsing will be allowed on "their network" in the future (as well as any downloading/streaming that directly benefits them including newsgroups eventually or is that unthinkable?).
Why then would they want to "detain" those "hogs".
You are absolutelly right!!The phone system and internet is a "public service". After all many government agencies,banks and many other businesses are increasingly conducting their business online to save on costs to both themselves and their patrons. I would further say the internet is a vital infrastructure to the future and economic growth of our Nation (same as the roads that criss-cross this Great White North of ours.
So you are going to sit on your butt and wait till something better comes along...
If anything better does come along, it will be due to the shouting,moaning and activism of those that will not be herded or accept these practices.
I trust you will refuse to benefit from it, and demand to keep things as they are for yourself
PS:I apologize to the OP if us tinfoil hat wearing geeks have hijacked his thread.this is an important issue that must be adressed by our government if we are to remain competitive participants in the online world.
Your essay gets the point accross.
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"I do not agree with what Sympatico is doing, but I will fight to the death for their right to do it to their own users."
And leave us alone!!! |
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Sean
The Great Divide
join:2004-01-23
Richmond Hil
·Bell Sympatico
| reply to mordin
said by mordin :said by Brereton55 :In order to throttle internet connections Bell has to inspect every kilobyte of data that is sent to your computer. They don't 'inspect' all the data sent to your computer. The way it's suppose to work is they do check to see what protocol is being used in the data transfer and when BT or P2P is detected that traffic is throttled. Are you anti-Bell? You fail to mention anything about Rogers. They started throttling long before Bell AND if your area is throttled it's 24/7 not just prime time like Bell. said by Brereton55 :The problem with throttling all of the smaller internet companies is that it is incredibly anti-competitive. I could see this being called anti-competitive if Bell was throttling the resellers and not their own network. If everyone is throttled it's a level playing field with DSL. If Bell is ordered not to throttle resellers wouldn't that but Bell in a at a competitive disadvantage? False advertising?? That's pushing things. DSL has always been a distance/line quality dependent connection. Also, network upgrades are massive, costly & take time to both plan and implement. A level playhing field? LOL
I don't even think it's neccecary to point out how ignorant that is. If you REALLY don't see it though, reply, and I'll do my best to explain it to you. |
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mordin
42 inches of 1080p
Premium
join:2005-05-28
Moncton, NB | OK, I'll bite...explain to me how, if Bell is forced to throttle it's own customers while not being allowed to throttle 3rd party ISPs using Bell's network, would make a it a level playing field? |
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