Canada’s Internet Fight
November 25th, 2008 by Megan TadyOur northern neighbors are as embroiled in Internet battles as we are in the United States. Canadians are fighting for high-speed Internet access across the country and to preserve Net Neutrality.
Last week, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC, their version of the FCC) decided that the ISP Bell Canada did not have to stop it’s “traffic-shaping” practices.
The Canadian Association of Internet Providers, an alliance of small, independent ISPs, had asked the Commission to investigate Bell, saying their network management practices were discriminatory.
| CRTC Ruling Says Bell Canada Can Throttle Traffic |
Steve Anderson, founder of SaveOurNet.ca, told Free Press that the ruling was bad news for Canada’s open Internet. “The ruling establishes that the dominant ISPs are allowed to throttle the Internet services of even those competing independent ISPs that use their network,” he said. “This means that Canada has less ISP competition, and in some markets, no access to an open, non-discriminatory network.”
SaveOurNet.ca is asking for people to write the CRTC in support of Net Neutrality.
But while the ruling was disappointing, it also put Net Neutrality issues firmly on the CRTC’s radar; it plans to examine ISP traffic management practices and will hold a public hearing on July 6, 2009, in Gatineau, Quebec.
“This [hearing is] something Canadian Net Neutrality advocates have been calling for, and should be seen as a win for the open Internet,” Anderson said. “This hearing is where biggest and most critical Net Neutrality battle will be fought.”
Michael Geist, a University of Ottawa law professor, wrote about the implications of the commission’s decision in his blog:
“Today’s CRTC decision is not the final word on net neutrality in Canada, but rather the first word on it. The Commission itself has opened the door to broader hearings on the issue next year, which may come alongside the new media hearings that also offer the opportunity to raise net neutrality concerns. Moreover, if the Commission comes to the conclusion that these practices are consistent with current Canadian law, there is the likelihood of growing calls from within Parliament to change the law.”
And while activists push for an open Internet, public interest, civic and industry groups in Canada also have launched an initiative called InternetforEveryone.ca to push for a national broadband plan. “For Canada to regain its lost status as a world leader, it needs a national strategy for getting citizens online that is accessible, inclusive, open and innovative,” says the Web site.
The initiative mirrors the U.S. effort at InternetforEveryone.org, an initiative organized by Free Press that is holding its first public meeting about the future of the Internet in Los Angeles on Dec. 6.
