New Google tool will help users measure net throttling

Not sure if your Internet carrier is throttling your bandwidth connection? Google is working with the global research community to develop tools that will help. On Wednesday, the California-based company announced the released of Measurement Lab (M-lab), a research initiative that is developing tools that allow users to, among other things, measure the speed of their connection, run diagnostics, and attempt to discern if their ISP is blocking or throttling particular applications, such as peer-to-peer downloading. To assist with the research, Google is providing researchers access to 36 services in 12 locations in the US and Europe. According to Google's chief Internet evangelist, Vint Cerf and principal engineer Stephen Stuart, all data collected via M-Lab will be made publicly available for other researchers to build on. "M-Lab is intended to be a truly community-based effort, and we welcome the support of other companies, institutions, researchers, and users that want to provide servers, tools, or other resources that can help the platform flourish," the executives state on Google's policy blog. Still in its infancy, M-Lab is initially making three tools running on servers near Google's headquarters available to help users diagnose connection problems. M-Lab partners include Google, the New American Foundation's Open Technology Institute and the PlanetLab Consortium. Canadian sites participating in PlanetLab include: CANARIE, McGill University, Ryerson University, University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, University of Ottawa, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, University of Calgary and University of New Brunswick. Google urged CRTC to stop net throttling Last July, Google called on the CRTC to stop Bell Canada and other carriers from throttling their wholesale Internet services. Responding to an application to the commission by the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP), Google said it disagreed with Bell's claims that throttling peer-to-peer applications is a reasonable form of network management. "Network management does not include Canadian carriers' blocking or degrading lawful applications that consumers wish to use. From consumer, competition and innovation perspectives, throttling applications that consumers choose is inconsistent with a content and application-neutral internet, and a violation of Canadian telecommunications law, which forbids unfair discrimination and undue or unreasonable preferences and requires that regulation be technologically and competitively neutral." Google says in the filing. In November, the CRTC denied CAIP's application, although it did launch a new public consultation on the Internet traffic management of ISPs, and whether such practices are allowed under the Telecommunications Act. The hearing is expected in July. The commission plans to look at broad range of topics associated with Internet traffic management. They include: technical solutions to Internet congestion, the influence of traffic management on content, potential unjust discrimination against competitors through the use of bandwidth shaping as well as whether the use of Internet throttling technologies would prevent the commission from implementing telecommunications policy objectives.

New Google tool will help users measure net throttling

News | 01/29/2009 7:32 pm EST

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