Rogers still too vague about its use of ITMPs: TekSavvy

In an ongoing dispute between Rogers Communications Inc. and some of its third party internet access (TPIA) wholesale customers over COVID-19-related internet traffic management practices (ITMPs), TekSavvy Solutions Inc. says Rogers is being too vague about its use of ITMPs, and should put the practice on hold until the CRTC reviews it. Rogers had originally filed a tariff application with the CRTC in May, informing the regulator that it would be applying an ITMP, as “a result of the current emergency situation and to safeguard the access of all retail and wholesale end users to high-speed services." An ITMP is used to limit service and throttle speeds to certain users in order to maintain speeds across the entire network. TekSavvy objected in a June intervention, saying the ITMP disproportionately affected their customers, and asked the CRTC to force Rogers to stop applying it, saying that given Rogers' public statements touting the strength of its networks, 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 also complained that Rogers provided more information about the ITMP to its retail customers on its website than to its wholesale customers and the CRTC. In late May Rogers filed a second tariff notice, in which it added the word "temporarily" to the following sentence in the original tariff notice: "Rogers maintains the ability to temporarily constrain the affecting end-user’s access to the shared resources, regardless of the application used." In a July 3 reply to interventions, Rogers again said that it was exempt from the notification requirements of CRTC regulations on ITMPs. "Given the unprecedented nature of COVID-19 and the broad impact it has had, and continues to have, on all Canadians, Rogers was required to quickly apply the ITMP to preserve the reliability and integrity of its Internet access network for the benefit of all customers. By acting under this exception, Rogers was not required to provide any notice to retail or wholesale end-users," the company wrote. In a Sept. 14 letter, the CRTC asked Rogers to explain why the ITMP notification Rogers gave to its retail customers and posted on its website differed from the wording it submitted to the CRTC in its tariff notification, and to explain how the policy meets disclosure requirements the CRTC has for ITMPs. In a Sept. 18 reply, Rogers wrote that while the ITMP notification posted to its website was written in a detailed, easy-to-follow manner with frequently asked questions (FAQs), the tariff notification meant for the regulator and wholesale customers "provides disclosure of the ITMP in a format that is appropriate for inclusion in a tariff, which lists the terms and conditions under which the Internet Service is provided." "The different approaches between the Policy and the tariff are simply due to their different audiences and purposes," Rogers wrote. The reply also explained that as the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to continue into 2021, so will the ITMP. Rogers pointed to the continued increased demand from working from home, and students who opt for online learning instead of physically attending classes. "While we hope that this will be a temporary situation, it is likely that the pandemic will continue into 2021. When the pandemic has subsided and Internet usage and traffic patterns return to normal, Rogers would consider the emergency situation to have come to a close," Rogers wrote. TekSavvy, in a Sept. 25 reply, said the explanation is not good enough to explain the use of the ITMP, and asked the regulator to force Rogers to disclose more about how the ITMP affects users. Internet traffic and usage patterns, TekSavvy argued, "began to normalize months ago." The current wording of Rogers description of the ITMP in the tariff notice, TekSavvy argued, is still too open to subjective interpretation, and still does not meet the disclosure requirements. The regulations, TekSavvy said, require Rogers to explain who is affected, when the ITMP will occur, what type of traffic is subjected, and how a user's experience will change under an ITMP. 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. — Reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Rogers still too vague about its use of ITMPs: TekSavvy

News | 10/02/2020 4:02 pm EDT

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