Commission hears data cap debate

CRTC commissioners presiding over the basic services hearing continued to hear conflicting opinions over the effectiveness and necessity of including data caps in Internet packages Wednesday. The idea of enshrining a minimum usage limit into a basic service objective should be approached with caution, representatives from Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink said on the penultimate day of a three-week proceeding. Eastlink uses data caps, or “included usage,” as a network management tool, Natalie MacDonald, vice-president of regulatory, told the five-commissioner panel. “We would be very concerned about setting a minimum,” MacDonald said, in response to a question from vice-chair Peter Menzies about the idea of limiting how small data allotments can be by prescribing a minimum amount of data that must be offered in a package. “There would be risks if it impeded our ability to properly manage our usage in our network, especially in troubled areas or challenged areas.” The Internet service provider (ISP) should have the flexibility to “provide and establish reasonable usage,” MacDonald added, noting that if the standard wasn’t set properly “it could really could be an impact on our business.” “Because, if the cap is too high, the cost to us to keep that network running for one service at a very generous cap could impede our ability to continue our investment,” she said. If someone is going to use more bandwidth, they should have to pay for it, Eastlink CEO Lee Bragg said. “I think in order to make sure there’s some fairness, if there’s big users on the network that are driving costs that may end up being borne by all the customers, I think you should have a mechanism that allows the bigger users that are driving the costs to pay more,” he said. Representatives from Alberta-based Cybera made the opposite argument later Wednesday afternoon. Cybera oversees “the development of Alberta’s cyber-infrastructure,” according to its website. Data caps are a real concern for many Canadians, Alyssa Moore, Cybera’s policy and strategy analyst, said during its opening remarks. The panel has heard from a variety of witnesses who have spoken about having to limiting their Internet use to escape high overage charges. “Ideally, all connections would be uncapped,” Moore said. During a Tuesday morning appearance by the Canadian Independent Telephone Company Joint Task Force, Hay Communications general manager Angela Lawrence said she was looking forward to responses to inquiries the panel has made to participants about average use by package. Hay doesn’t have caps, though they’ve considered it, and haven’t seen “the immediate need to restrict” their users, Lawrence said, according to a transcript. “I’m glad you mentioned the interrogs we sent on usage,” chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said, according to a transcript. “It’s not just the FCC that’s looking at this issue; we are as well.” In a Monday statement issued by Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler, a prohibition on charging usage-based pricing and data caps are among the conditions the U.S. regulator is looking to impose on Charter Communications Inc.’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable Inc. and Bright House LLC. The hearing resumes Thursday at 8:30 a.m. for its final day. — With reporting by Charelle Evelyn at cevelyn@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Commission hears data cap debate

News | April 27, 2016

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Commission hears data cap debate

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