Bell Canada is in some hot water over arbitrarily, and without notification, started using throttling and traffic shaping to limit the congestion on the internets that they perceived. This congestion, they contend, is caused by P2P file sharing. The catch is that since Bell has a virtual monopoly over the entire phone network in much of Canada, the restrictions they put in place were also arbitrarily placed on all DSL subscribers connected to the Bell network, even people subscribed to a DSL provider other than Bell.

Naturally, people were not happy, including the CRTC. They have asked Bell, politely, for the data used to make this one-sided decision. Bell has since handed over the information and our buddies over at Ars Technica have gotten their hands on it. It doesn't look good for bell. Go over and read the article, if you are so inclined. It's pretty good. There's charts and everything.

"While these numbers may seem low to the average layperson," says the letter, "they are significant and network traffic engineers such that it is important to consider the number of congested links in the proper context."

I am a network admin, and looking at the numbers doesn't make me want to curl up in the fetal position. While they aren't amazing, it seems that the backbone is ticking away pretty darned good. The DSLAMS aren't quite so nice, but that it more of a problem of over-subscribing than anything.

Bell, where's the problem here?

A noted copyright expert is coming to Tillsonburg next month to talk to the public about changes proposed to the Copyright Act by federal industry minister, Jim Prentice.

Sam Trosow, an associate professor at London's University of Western Ontario, is a recognized expert in Intellectual Property rights and has co-authored a citizen's guide to Canadian copyright law. He will be in Tillsonburg on Wednesday, July 16^th at the invitation of the Tillsonburg Linux Users Group (tillug) to discuss what the legislation proposed in Bill C-61 means to Canadian users and producers of copyrighted material.

The talk is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Station Arts Centre.

At UWO, Trosow is jointly appointed to the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS). Before joining Western, he was at the University of California at Berkeley and before that he had a private law practice in California. His doctoral work in the Department of Information Studies at UCLA focused on information policy issues.

Changes to the copyright act were originally to be introduced late last year but Prentice withdrew the legislation at the last minute as opposition to the proposed changes grew, particularly on the Internet where a Facebook group ballooned to roughly 35,000 members. It has now doubled to more than 70,000 members.

Copyright laws are of increasing importance as more content is provided in a digital format, as broadband internet continues to grow in popularity, and as more people are using social networks and other online activities.

Last week, Joe McGuire, who operates a web site, tinfoilmusic.net, briefed tillug on the proposed law and the group then decided to invite Trosow to speak and invite the public to join them.

"It is important to know what is and isn't copyright, what rights can be expected by content providers and by consumers alike, before threat of lawsuits arrive in your inbox," explained McGuire. "It is also important to understand proposed changes under Bill C-61 and how the changes may impact both producers and consumers."

The discussion will be followed by question and answer period.

--30--

Contacts:

Sam Trosow: strosowATuwoDOTca
Tillug: Chris Jezovnik, OpenComputing, chrisjATopencomputingDOTca
Joe McGuire, tinfoilmusic.net, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

About TILLUG:

The Tillsonburg Linux Users Groups is a computing community based around Open Source software and the Linux operating system. Tillug's home is in the beautifully restored Station Arts Centre, a former railway station that was converted into an art gallery, shop and studio. As one of the country's most active Linux users groups, Tillug is proud to be the premiere hub for the exchange of advanced computing knowledge in this region of south-western Ontario.

About tinfoilmusic: