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Written by tinfoil
on
Friday, 20 June 2008 05:10
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(ArsTechnica) When Bell Canada began throttling P2P access on its network for nine hours a day in an effort to keep the tubes clear, the company probably didn't mean to goad regulators into launching a major net neutrality proceeding that could set the ground rules for ISPs across the country. But judging from this week's comments by Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) boss Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C., that's exactly what Bell Canada is about to get. In a speech this week (PDF), von Finckenstein pointed out that the dispute between Bell Canada and the group of small ISPs that lease wholesale access from it was only "the tip of the iceberg. Under the heading of 'net neutrality' lies a whole range of questions affecting consumers and service providers. Fundamental issues of technology, economics, competition, access and freedom of speech are all involved." But will the CRTC take up such questions? von Finckenstein certainly hinted that it would, saying, "In the coming year, we will continue to study the issues surrounding net neutrality. This process could evolve into a major public consultation in order to obtain the views of interested parties. It is one of the polarizing issues of the day. It will have to be addressed and debated by all of us."
This is good news. There are too many forms of legitimate P2P applications for this sort of heavy-handedness to be justifiable on Bell's part. For those who don't know who Bell is, they control a vast majority of the network that carries phone & DSL.
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