TekSavvy argues Rogers unfairly applying ITMP

TekSavvy Solutions Inc. has asked the CRTC to force Rogers Communications Inc. to stop applying an internet traffic management practice (ITMP) the reseller says disproportionately affects TekSavvy's users, and contravenes regulatory requirements. An ITMP is used to limit service and throttle speeds to certain users in order to maintain speeds across the entire network. In a tariff application initially filed with the CRTC on May 6, Rogers informed the CRTC that it has been implementing such practices, saying that as "a result of the current emergency situation and to safeguard the access of all retail and wholesale end users to high-speed services, Rogers is providing this jointly with the disclosure of technical ITMPs to its retail customers." Elsewhere in its notification, Rogers writes that during "times of emergency or high demand, Rogers may apply internet traffic management practices (ITMP) to Internet Service (IS) to ensure all end users have access to in-demand resources." "During these periods, any end-user whose disproportionate consumption of shared resources required for internet service is negatively impacting the access to service by other end-users, may have their service affected," Rogers wrote. In a June 5 intervention, TekSavvy argues the ITMP Rogers has been applying throughout the pandemic does not qualify as the kind of emergency management practice that would exempt it from the CRTC's established framework on such practices. TekSavvy points to public statements from Rogers touting the strength and overall health of the network. The CRTC policy establishing the ITMP framework allows, TekSavvy acknowledges, incumbent telecom companies to unilaterally implement some ITMPs without commission approval, such as those used for network security or “those employed temporarily to address unpredictable traffic events (e.g. traffic surges due to global events and failures on part of an ISP’s network) in order to protect network integrity." "TekSavvy challenges Rogers’ stated rationale that the ITMP is intended to address times of emergency and high usage given that Rogers did not begin applying it until after Internet usage patterns had already began to normalize and continues to apply it as we progress away from the initial effects of covid19 on networks," the reseller argues in its intervention to the tariff application. According to TekSavvy's complaint to the commission, however, even though Rogers references the "pandemic as a rationale not to provide notice, Rogers has not claimed that it is applying the ITMP for these reasons." Therefore, TekSavvy argues, the regulator's ITMP framework applies, requiring Rogers to notify its third-party ISP customers and provide a specific set of information. The CRTC's framework requires incumbent ISPs to inform customers why they are applying ITMPs, which users the ITMPs are affecting and when, and what the specific impact of the ITMPs are on user experience and speeds. TekSavvy argues in its intervention that Rogers did not meet these requirements. "Given that Rogers is currently applying the ITMP, and Rogers states that it will only apply the ITMP during times of emergency or high demand, it is reasonable to infer that, in Rogers’ view, the ongoing covid19 pandemic and the increase in wireline Internet usage continues to constitute a time of emergency or high demand," the reseller says. "In TekSavvy’s submission, that is not a sustainable position in light of network patterns and Rogers’ public statements about the health of its network." TekSavvy also argues that the practice disproportionately disadvantages wholesale customers, saying that given "that wholesale-based service providers generate more upload traffic than cable-based carriers such as Rogers," ITMPs targeted at usage rates will disproportionately affect wholesale-based ISPs like Teksavvy. The third-party ISP concludes by asking the CRTC to force Rogers to stop implementing the ITMP and to enforce the disclosure requirements of the ITMP framework. This is not the only time TekSavvy has butted heads with incumbents over their practices during the pandemic. In April, TekSavvy claimed in a letter to the CRTC that incumbents were using the pandemic as cover to unilaterally change their installation and repair procedures. The company has also called on the CRTC to impose an emergency wholesale internet rate regime until the matter of wholesale rates is set to be decided in Federal Court, a call doubled-down on by both the NDP and the Conservative industry critics. — With reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

TekSavvy argues Rogers unfairly applying ITMP

News | June 10, 2020

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TekSavvy argues Rogers unfairly applying ITMP

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