Telecoms say speed throttling doesn’t violate net neutrality

The big three telecoms are telling the CRTC that their practice of slowing data speeds down on the new "unlimited" plans after customers reach their data cap is not a violation of the regulator's policy on internet traffic management practices (ITMPs). That ITMP decision is part of the CRTC's net neutrality framework, which also includes later decisions on zero-rating and differential pricing practices. Last week, several telecoms responded to a CRTC inquest asking how data throttling practices in use following the introduction of "unlimited plans" over the past couple of months don't violate net neutrality. The biggest telecoms all made some version of the same argument: the drop in download and upload speeds that users are held to after reaching the monthly data cap is uniformly enforced, and therefore does not violate commission policy on ITMPs. If a customer’s internet becomes slower for all applications after reaching the data allotment, it is not the company’s fault if certain high-data services are unavailable, according to the big telecoms. The telecoms say that doesn’t amount to a violation of the principles of net neutrality because there’s no active curation of what is available at reduced speeds and what is not. “The fact that certain types of services, such as 4K video streaming services, cannot work on a 2.5 Mbps connection does not constitute the application of editorial control of content by the Internet service provider (ISP) such that it would trigger section 36 of the Act,” BCE Inc. said in its statement. “By treating all Internet traffic equally, an ISP cannot be deemed to be exercising editorial control over content or influencing the meaning or purpose of a customer’s communications.” Rogers Communications Inc. took a similar line of argument in its reply as Bell did, saying that when it reduces speeds on its Chatr flanker brand from 3 mb/s down to 64 kb/s after customers use up their data allotment, Rogers is not choosing what users can and cannot access. “In no way can this technical ITMP be considered to amount to controlling the content or influencing the meaning and purpose of the telecommunications in question. Content is not altered, and the meaning and purpose of the telecommunication is not influenced,” the company wrote in its reply. “All applications and classes of services are treated equally. As such the offering is fully aligned and in compliance with the CRTC’s ITMP framework.” Responding to questions specifically about its practices on a certain fixed wireless service, Telus Corp., as with Rogers and Bell, said it makes internet access uniformly slower for users after the data allotment is reached. “All SmartHub users,” Telus writes in its reply, are “subject to the same rules and same decrease in speed when cell site resources are in high demand.” Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink pointed out that it only uses ITMPs for its Rural Connect fixed wireless service, which it says is only used by a "very small" number of areas in rural Nova Scotia. While speeds for these users are slowed down, Eastlink says, the ITMPs do not block any access. Xplornet Communications Inc. acknowledged that it, too, uses ITMPs, but said that the practice prioritizes time-sensitive applications. "In times of congestion, application balancing (a) ensures core activities, such as voice calling and web browsing, are less impacted by congestion and (b) impacts are higher for bandwidth- intensive, less time-sensitive applications such as file transfers, cloud storage and backup services, and software updates," the company explained in its submission. — With reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and editing by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca

Telecoms say speed throttling doesn’t violate net neutrality

News | August 6, 2019

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

Telecoms say speed throttling doesn’t violate net neutrality

News | August 6, 2019

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Related Stories

Bell seeks CRTC clarity amid class action alleging unreasonable prison call rates

Bell, Northwestel tell CRTC to leave billing dispute with Iristel in hands of the court

Bell, Northwestel, reach agreements with Iristel to suspend disconnection notices

CRTC greenlights Northwestel Connecting Families packages

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us