CRTC’s complaints-based net neutrality regime won’t result in ‘any complaints at all,’ critics say

Critics say the CRTC’s complaints-based regulatory approach to net neutrality is so complex, expensive, and cumbersome that they don’t expect “any complaints at all” against ISPs engaging in net throttling. The enforcement regime that the CRTC put into place last October to deal with ISP’s Internet traffic management has received one public complaint—relating not to net throttling itself, but difficulty finding information about ISP practices, the CRTC says. The enforcement regime is coming under increasing criticism from consumer protection groups and small Internet service providers (ISPs) that say it will never work. John Lawford, legal counsel with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, a consumer advocacy group, told The Wire Report that the model in place to deal with complaints is too complex and expensive for the average consumer to navigate. “Unless you’re a deep-pocketed competitor with a lot of money at stake, you’re probably not going to be able to challenge the decisions that are being made at the switch,” Lawford said. “I don’t think you’ll see any complaints at all.” To manage their networks, large Internet service providers like Bell Canada, Telus and Rogers throttle traffic for specific applications at peak hours. The terms of service for Bell Canada’s DSL Internet, for example, stipulate that the company uses a technology called deep packet inspection between the hours of 4:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. to manage its network. Deep packet inspection analyzes the type of traffic flowing through the network. At those peak hours it gives Bell the power to slow down specific traffic, such as peer-to-peer file sharing. "In order to continue to ensure a consistently high level of service for all of our customers, traffic management allows Bell to deliver a consistent and reliable experience to all its customers who use real-time sensitive applications like browsing, video streaming and instant messaging during peak periods of Internet usage," says Bell's page on network management. Charlie Angus, NDP MP and his party’s digital affairs critic, has been critical of the practice. “ have no right to arbitrarily decide what info should be stuck in the slow lane,” Angus told The Wire Report. “This complaints process is just window dressing." Under CRTC regulations, if a consumer suspects that their Internet connection has been unfairly slowed, the onus is on them to file a complaint with the CRTC. CRTC spokesman Denis Carmel said complaints can be filed through the CRTC’s website or a 1-800 number. When a complaint is filed, the CRTC corresponds with the complainant to try to address the problem—an approach that solves the issue in most cases, Carmel said. If the accused ISP does not cooperate, the CRTC sends it a cease and desist order—but the commission cannot issue monetary penalties for non-compliance. Large ISPs Telus Communications, Cogeco Cable Inc., and Barrett Xplore Inc., told the CRTC last year that net neutrality can be enforced through the combination of a CRTC complaints system and competitive market forces. When The Wire Report asked Bell Canada spokeswoman Jacqueline Michelis by email whether the company had received any retail or wholesale customer complaints regarding network traffic management, she said: "Happy to say no complaints." Marc Garneau, Liberal MP and his party’s industry, science and technology critic, told The Wire Report that the customers of Internet service providers do not have the tools they need to establish a case for themselves if they believe their Internet is throttled. He said that any perceived wrongdoing should be evaluated with hard data made available to the customer, showing their precise download and upload speeds at any given time. “There are no mechanisms in place to ensure the accountability of the large ISPs,” Garneau said. Angus has tabled a private members bill, C-398, in the House of Commons. The bill would amend the Telecommunications Act by restricting--with limited exceptions--any network management practices that “would favour, degrade or prioritize any content, application or service transmitted over a broadband network based on its source, ownership, destination or type.” Industry Minister Tony Clement has previously stood up for consumer rights on the issue during the House of Common's Question Period. “Most observers have seen it to be an appropriate balance between the interests of the consumers and also the ability of the providers to provide the services we expect on the Internet, but I am watching those providers very closely," he said on Oct. 22. "I do not want to see a situation where consumers are put at risk in terms of their access to the Internet." In the wholesale market, smaller Internet service providers say they are at a disadvantage due to traffic management practices used on the infrastructure belonging to larger companies like Bell Canada and Telus. “A congestion issue in Toronto shouldn’t manifest itself in Ottawa, Montreal or Quebec City,” said Tom Copeland, chair of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP), an industry group representing small ISPs. Copeland said CAIP has not yet filed a complaint with the CRTC, and agreed that the complaints system is not user-friendly for individuals. "The regulatory complaints system is not an approriate way to go after Bell for what consumers feel is inappropriate traffic management," he said. "The average citizen just doesn't have the legal and regulatory wherewithal to understand the ins and outs of the system and to do battle within the system." Critics like Lawford say that the enforcement rules need to ensure more transparency between the telecommunications companies and their customers. “I’m surprised people aren’t more mad about it,” Lawford said.

CRTC’s complaints-based net neutrality regime won’t result in ‘any complaints at all,’ critics say

News | 01/22/2010 9:45 pm EST

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