Speaking out on net neutrality

ah802 · 03-29-2008, 10:54 AM

The National Union of Public and General Employees, which represents more than 340,000 workers across the country, on Friday wrote to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to investigate the practice of "traffic shaping" and its impact on internet users.

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2...eutrality.html

The union said the ISPs' actions are undermining the position Canada has built over the years as a leader in high-speed internet deployment and use, as well as the intent and function of the internet itself.

Experts also say there is plenty of capacity left on the networks — a fact Bell admits to — so the traffic-shaping is being done merely to interfere with internet applications the companies see as threats to their own businesses. {Rogers owns a network of DVD rental stores}

New Democrat MP Charlie Angus called on Industry Minister Jim Prentice to take action on keeping the internet neutral.

"This is the ultimate way of shutting down the innovation agenda in Canada... we can't let these companies arbitrarily decide who has access and who doesn't."

ah802 · 03-31-2008, 12:08 PM

If this kind of traffic shaping continues, it will mean that video downloading will be a struggle. Bell is now throttling all P2P and encrypted traffic including P2P, VPN, Skype (P2P), Torrent, Online Trading, Online Banking, Joost (online tv), VOIP, etc.

The point of "Net Neutrality" is so that nobody can tell us what we use the internet for. If Bell does, then that is the end of innovation on the net in Canada. And so goes those HD downloads...

Globe & Mail source

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...tory/WBcyberia

I regularly exceed my 60 gig cap, even with throttling... my expectations is that connection costs will exceed $80 month!

Ouch!

ah802 · 04-05-2008, 11:00 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/05/op...in&oref=slogin

Canadians might have some issues reading this link, so I've snagged some of it, good reading for anyone.

RECENTLY, the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust task force invited me to be the lead witness for its hearing on “net neutrality.” I’ve collaborated with the Future of Music Coalition, and my band, OK Go, has been among the first to find real success on the Internet — our songs and videos have been streamed and downloaded hundreds of millions of times (orders of magnitude above our CD sales) — so the committee thought I’d make a decent spokesman for up-and-coming musicians in this new era of digital pandemonium.

I’m flattered, of course, but it makes you wonder if Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner sit around arguing who was listening to Vampire Weekend first.

If you haven’t been following the debate on net neutrality, you’re not alone. The details of the issue can lead into realms where only tech geeks and policy wonks dare to tread, but at root there’s a pretty simple question: How much control should network operators be allowed to have over the information on their lines?

Most people assume that the Internet is a democratic free-for-all by nature — that it could be no other way. But the openness of the Internet as we know it is a byproduct of the fact that the network was started on phone lines. The phone system is subject to “common carriage” laws, which require phone companies to treat all calls and customers equally. They can’t offer tiered service in which higher-paying customers get their calls through faster or clearer, or calls originating on a competitor’s network are blocked or slowed.

These laws have been on the books for about as long as telephones have been ringing, and were meant to keep Bell from using its elephantine market share to squash everyone else. And because of common carriage, digital data running over the phone lines has essentially been off limits to the people who laid the lines. But in the last decade, the network providers have argued that since the Internet is no longer primarily run on phone lines, the laws of data equality no longer apply. They reason that they own the fiber optic and coaxial lines, so they should be able to do whatever they want with the information crossing them.

Under current law, they’re right. They can block certain files or Web sites for their subscribers, or slow or obstruct certain applications. And they do, albeit pretty rarely. Network providers have censored anti-Bush comments from an online Pearl Jam concert, refused to allow a text-messaging program from the pro-choice group Naral (saying it was “unsavory”), blocked access to the Internet phone service (and direct competitor) Vonage and selectively throttled online traffic that was using the BitTorrent protocol.

When the network operators pull these stunts, there is generally widespread outrage. But outright censorship and obstruction of access are only one part of the issue, and they represent the lesser threat, in the long run. What we should worry about more is not what’s kept from us today, but what will be built (or not built) in the years to come.

We hate when things are taken from us (so we rage at censorship), but we also love to get new things. And the providers are chomping at the bit to offer them to us: new high-bandwidth treats like superfast high-definition video and quick movie downloads. They can make it sound great: newer, bigger, faster, better! But the new fast lanes they propose will be theirs to control and exploit and sell access to, without the level playing field that common carriage built into today’s network.

They won’t be blocking anything per se — we’ll never know what we’re not getting — they’ll just be leapfrogging today’s technology with a new, higher-bandwidth network where they get to be the gatekeepers and toll collectors. The superlative new video on offer will be available from (surprise, surprise) them, or companies who’ve paid them for the privilege of access to their customers. If this model sounds familiar, that’s because it is. It’s how cable TV operates.

We can’t allow a system of gatekeepers to get built into the network. The Internet shouldn’t be harnessed for the profit of a few, rather than the good of the many; value should come from the quality of information, not the control of access to it.

For some parallel examples: there are only two guitar companies who make most of the guitars sold in America, but they don’t control what we play on those guitars. Whether we use a Mac or a PC doesn’t govern what we can make with our computers. The telephone company doesn’t get to decide what we discuss over our phone lines. It would be absurd to let the handful of companies who connect us to the Internet determine what we can do online. Congress needs to establish basic ground rules for an open Internet, just as common carriage laws did for the phone system.

The Internet, for now, is the type of place where my band’s homemade videos find a wider audience than the industry’s million-dollar productions. A good idea is still more important than deep pockets. If network providers are allowed to build the next generation of the Net as a pay-to-play system, we will all pay the price.

Damian Kulash Jr. is the lead singer for OK Go.

ah802 · 05-23-2008, 11:06 AM

Bell Canada is starting an online download movie store! After going at it tooth and nail, with throttling & shaping and pronouncing that there just isn't enough bandwidth for torrents and p2p.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...-rages-on.html

blatant plug for a good rally this Tuesday!

ATTENTION, TEKSAVVY NE PRENDRA PAS D'APPEL TÉLÉPHONIQUE LE MARDI 27 MAI 2008.

Le mardi 27 mai 2008, le personnel de TekSavvy sera à un rassemblement sur la colline parlementaire du Canada à Ottawa au sujet de Net Neutrality. Nous luttons pour votre service d'Internet et vos droits. Nous espérons donc que vous ne nous téléphonerez seulement si vous croyez que c'est une urgence, ceci nous aidera à gérer vos besoins. Nos employés sur place assureront des délais minimes pour les activations de services et/ou les billets pour les troubles dûs à cet événement.

Nous vous remercions à l'avance pour votre compréhension et votre support.

Si vous désirez en apprendre davantage sur Net Neutrality ou si vous voulez nous joindre à Ottawa, veuillez aller sur le site suivant :

www.netneutralityrally.ca

Propriétaires de TekSavvy

ATTENTION, TEKSAVVY WILL NOT BE TAKING PHONE CALLS TUESDAY, MAY 27TH 2008

On Tuesday, May 27th 2008, the TekSavvy staff will be at a rally on Parliament Hill, Ottawa, in the name of Net Neutrality, fighting for your Internet and Privacy rights. Therefore, we hope you will only make calls to the office if you believe it to be an emergency as this would greatly help us properly manage your needs. Staff will be on hand to ensure minimal to no delays to product activations and/or trouble tickets experienced due to this event.

We thank you in advance for your understanding and support.

If you wish to learn more about Net Neutrality or wish to join us in Ottawa please go to the following link.

www.netneutralityrally.ca

TekSavvy Ownership

ah802 · 05-23-2008, 11:12 AM

Bell Canada is starting an online download movie store! After going at it tooth and nail, with throttling & shaping and pronouncing that there just isn't enough bandwidth for torrents and p2p.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...-rages-on.html

blatant plug for a good rally this Tuesday!

ATTENTION, TEKSAVVY NE PRENDRA PAS D'APPEL TÉLÉPHONIQUE LE MARDI 27 MAI 2008.

Le mardi 27 mai 2008, le personnel de TekSavvy sera à un rassemblement sur la colline parlementaire du Canada à Ottawa au sujet de Net Neutrality. Nous luttons pour votre service d'Internet et vos droits. Nous espérons donc que vous ne nous téléphonerez seulement si vous croyez que c'est une urgence, ceci nous aidera à gérer vos besoins. Nos employés sur place assureront des délais minimes pour les activations de services et/ou les billets pour les troubles dûs à cet événement.

Nous vous remercions à l'avance pour votre compréhension et votre support.

Si vous désirez en apprendre davantage sur Net Neutrality ou si vous voulez nous joindre à Ottawa, veuillez aller sur le site suivant :

www.netneutralityrally.ca

Propriétaires de TekSavvy

ATTENTION, TEKSAVVY WILL NOT BE TAKING PHONE CALLS TUESDAY, MAY 27TH 2008

On Tuesday, May 27th 2008, the TekSavvy staff will be at a rally on Parliament Hill, Ottawa, in the name of Net Neutrality, fighting for your Internet and Privacy rights. Therefore, we hope you will only make calls to the office if you believe it to be an emergency as this would greatly help us properly manage your needs. Staff will be on hand to ensure minimal to no delays to product activations and/or trouble tickets experienced due to this event.

We thank you in advance for your understanding and support.

If you wish to learn more about Net Neutrality or wish to join us in Ottawa please go to the following link.

www.netneutralityrally.ca

TekSavvy Ownership

willywilly99 · 05-27-2008, 04:43 PM

The point of "Net Neutrality" is so that nobody can tell us what we use the internet for. If Bell does, then that is the end of innovation on the net in Canada. And so goes those HD downloads...

willywilly99 · 05-27-2008, 04:47 PM

Really The point of "Net Neutrality" is so that nobody can tell us what we use the internet for. If Bell does, then that is the end of innovation on the net in Canada. And so goes those HD downloads of the

ah802 · 07-09-2008, 09:52 PM

Looks like Google is on our side, with a submission to the CRTC and says Bell Canada Inc. is breaking Canadian telecommunications law by slowing certain internet traffic, and is urging the CRTC to take action against the company.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/200...c.html?ref=rss

Aside from Google and Skype, parties who have made CRTC submissions supporting CAIP include: the University of Western Ontario; the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic; the Union des consommateurs; Primus Telecommunications Canada Inc.; the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association; and the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, which counts network equipment maker Alcatel Lucent among its members.

CRTC expects to rule on the CAIP-Bell dispute in September and has said a larger investigation into net neutrality principles is likely.

03-29-2008, 10:54 AM	#1
ah802 Visual Arts Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,241	Speaking out on net neutrality The National Union of Public and General Employees, which represents more than 340,000 workers across the country, on Friday wrote to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to investigate the practice of "traffic shaping" and its impact on internet users. http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2...eutrality.html The union said the ISPs' actions are undermining the position Canada has built over the years as a leader in high-speed internet deployment and use, as well as the intent and function of the internet itself. Experts also say there is plenty of capacity left on the networks — a fact Bell admits to — so the traffic-shaping is being done merely to interfere with internet applications the companies see as threats to their own businesses. {Rogers owns a network of DVD rental stores} New Democrat MP Charlie Angus called on Industry Minister Jim Prentice to take action on keeping the internet neutral. "This is the ultimate way of shutting down the innovation agenda in Canada... we can't let these companies arbitrarily decide who has access and who doesn't."

03-31-2008, 12:08 PM	#2
ah802 Visual Arts Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,241	I continue to post in this vein... it does have HD implications If this kind of traffic shaping continues, it will mean that video downloading will be a struggle. Bell is now throttling all P2P and encrypted traffic including P2P, VPN, Skype (P2P), Torrent, Online Trading, Online Banking, Joost (online tv), VOIP, etc. The point of "Net Neutrality" is so that nobody can tell us what we use the internet for. If Bell does, then that is the end of innovation on the net in Canada. And so goes those HD downloads... Globe & Mail source http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...tory/WBcyberia I regularly exceed my 60 gig cap, even with throttling... my expectations is that connection costs will exceed $80 month! Ouch!

04-05-2008, 11:00 PM	#3
ah802 Visual Arts Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,241	Good article in the NY times... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/05/op...in&oref=slogin Canadians might have some issues reading this link, so I've snagged some of it, good reading for anyone. RECENTLY, the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust task force invited me to be the lead witness for its hearing on “net neutrality.” I’ve collaborated with the Future of Music Coalition, and my band, OK Go, has been among the first to find real success on the Internet — our songs and videos have been streamed and downloaded hundreds of millions of times (orders of magnitude above our CD sales) — so the committee thought I’d make a decent spokesman for up-and-coming musicians in this new era of digital pandemonium. I’m flattered, of course, but it makes you wonder if Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner sit around arguing who was listening to Vampire Weekend first. If you haven’t been following the debate on net neutrality, you’re not alone. The details of the issue can lead into realms where only tech geeks and policy wonks dare to tread, but at root there’s a pretty simple question: How much control should network operators be allowed to have over the information on their lines? Most people assume that the Internet is a democratic free-for-all by nature — that it could be no other way. But the openness of the Internet as we know it is a byproduct of the fact that the network was started on phone lines. The phone system is subject to “common carriage” laws, which require phone companies to treat all calls and customers equally. They can’t offer tiered service in which higher-paying customers get their calls through faster or clearer, or calls originating on a competitor’s network are blocked or slowed. These laws have been on the books for about as long as telephones have been ringing, and were meant to keep Bell from using its elephantine market share to squash everyone else. And because of common carriage, digital data running over the phone lines has essentially been off limits to the people who laid the lines. But in the last decade, the network providers have argued that since the Internet is no longer primarily run on phone lines, the laws of data equality no longer apply. They reason that they own the fiber optic and coaxial lines, so they should be able to do whatever they want with the information crossing them. Under current law, they’re right. They can block certain files or Web sites for their subscribers, or slow or obstruct certain applications. And they do, albeit pretty rarely. Network providers have censored anti-Bush comments from an online Pearl Jam concert, refused to allow a text-messaging program from the pro-choice group Naral (saying it was “unsavory”), blocked access to the Internet phone service (and direct competitor) Vonage and selectively throttled online traffic that was using the BitTorrent protocol. When the network operators pull these stunts, there is generally widespread outrage. But outright censorship and obstruction of access are only one part of the issue, and they represent the lesser threat, in the long run. What we should worry about more is not what’s kept from us today, but what will be built (or not built) in the years to come. We hate when things are taken from us (so we rage at censorship), but we also love to get new things. And the providers are chomping at the bit to offer them to us: new high-bandwidth treats like superfast high-definition video and quick movie downloads. They can make it sound great: newer, bigger, faster, better! But the new fast lanes they propose will be theirs to control and exploit and sell access to, without the level playing field that common carriage built into today’s network. They won’t be blocking anything per se — we’ll never know what we’re not getting — they’ll just be leapfrogging today’s technology with a new, higher-bandwidth network where they get to be the gatekeepers and toll collectors. The superlative new video on offer will be available from (surprise, surprise) them, or companies who’ve paid them for the privilege of access to their customers. If this model sounds familiar, that’s because it is. It’s how cable TV operates. We can’t allow a system of gatekeepers to get built into the network. The Internet shouldn’t be harnessed for the profit of a few, rather than the good of the many; value should come from the quality of information, not the control of access to it. For some parallel examples: there are only two guitar companies who make most of the guitars sold in America, but they don’t control what we play on those guitars. Whether we use a Mac or a PC doesn’t govern what we can make with our computers. The telephone company doesn’t get to decide what we discuss over our phone lines. It would be absurd to let the handful of companies who connect us to the Internet determine what we can do online. Congress needs to establish basic ground rules for an open Internet, just as common carriage laws did for the phone system. The Internet, for now, is the type of place where my band’s homemade videos find a wider audience than the industry’s million-dollar productions. A good idea is still more important than deep pockets. If network providers are allowed to build the next generation of the Net as a pay-to-play system, we will all pay the price. Damian Kulash Jr. is the lead singer for OK Go.

05-23-2008, 11:06 AM	#4
ah802 Visual Arts Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,241	And this is what it's all about! Bell Canada is starting an online download movie store! After going at it tooth and nail, with throttling & shaping and pronouncing that there just isn't enough bandwidth for torrents and p2p. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...-rages-on.html blatant plug for a good rally this Tuesday! ATTENTION, TEKSAVVY NE PRENDRA PAS D'APPEL TÉLÉPHONIQUE LE MARDI 27 MAI 2008. Le mardi 27 mai 2008, le personnel de TekSavvy sera à un rassemblement sur la colline parlementaire du Canada à Ottawa au sujet de Net Neutrality. Nous luttons pour votre service d'Internet et vos droits. Nous espérons donc que vous ne nous téléphonerez seulement si vous croyez que c'est une urgence, ceci nous aidera à gérer vos besoins. Nos employés sur place assureront des délais minimes pour les activations de services et/ou les billets pour les troubles dûs à cet événement. Nous vous remercions à l'avance pour votre compréhension et votre support. Si vous désirez en apprendre davantage sur Net Neutrality ou si vous voulez nous joindre à Ottawa, veuillez aller sur le site suivant : www.netneutralityrally.ca Propriétaires de TekSavvy ATTENTION, TEKSAVVY WILL NOT BE TAKING PHONE CALLS TUESDAY, MAY 27TH 2008 On Tuesday, May 27th 2008, the TekSavvy staff will be at a rally on Parliament Hill, Ottawa, in the name of Net Neutrality, fighting for your Internet and Privacy rights. Therefore, we hope you will only make calls to the office if you believe it to be an emergency as this would greatly help us properly manage your needs. Staff will be on hand to ensure minimal to no delays to product activations and/or trouble tickets experienced due to this event. We thank you in advance for your understanding and support. If you wish to learn more about Net Neutrality or wish to join us in Ottawa please go to the following link. www.netneutralityrally.ca TekSavvy Ownership

05-23-2008, 11:12 AM	#5
ah802 Visual Arts Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,241	And this is what it's all about! Bell Canada is starting an online download movie store! After going at it tooth and nail, with throttling & shaping and pronouncing that there just isn't enough bandwidth for torrents and p2p. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...-rages-on.html blatant plug for a good rally this Tuesday! ATTENTION, TEKSAVVY NE PRENDRA PAS D'APPEL TÉLÉPHONIQUE LE MARDI 27 MAI 2008. Le mardi 27 mai 2008, le personnel de TekSavvy sera à un rassemblement sur la colline parlementaire du Canada à Ottawa au sujet de Net Neutrality. Nous luttons pour votre service d'Internet et vos droits. Nous espérons donc que vous ne nous téléphonerez seulement si vous croyez que c'est une urgence, ceci nous aidera à gérer vos besoins. Nos employés sur place assureront des délais minimes pour les activations de services et/ou les billets pour les troubles dûs à cet événement. Nous vous remercions à l'avance pour votre compréhension et votre support. Si vous désirez en apprendre davantage sur Net Neutrality ou si vous voulez nous joindre à Ottawa, veuillez aller sur le site suivant : www.netneutralityrally.ca Propriétaires de TekSavvy ATTENTION, TEKSAVVY WILL NOT BE TAKING PHONE CALLS TUESDAY, MAY 27TH 2008 On Tuesday, May 27th 2008, the TekSavvy staff will be at a rally on Parliament Hill, Ottawa, in the name of Net Neutrality, fighting for your Internet and Privacy rights. Therefore, we hope you will only make calls to the office if you believe it to be an emergency as this would greatly help us properly manage your needs. Staff will be on hand to ensure minimal to no delays to product activations and/or trouble tickets experienced due to this event. We thank you in advance for your understanding and support. If you wish to learn more about Net Neutrality or wish to join us in Ottawa please go to the following link. www.netneutralityrally.ca TekSavvy Ownership

05-27-2008, 04:43 PM	#6
willywilly99 My plasma is High Def. Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 8	The point of "Net Neutrality" is so that nobody can tell us what we use the internet for. If Bell does, then that is the end of innovation on the net in Canada. And so goes those HD downloads... __________________ YOURFREEMOVIEDOWNLOADS

05-27-2008, 04:47 PM	#7
willywilly99 My plasma is High Def. Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 8	Really The point of "Net Neutrality" is so that nobody can tell us what we use the internet for. If Bell does, then that is the end of innovation on the net in Canada. And so goes those HD downloads of the __________________ YOURFREEMOVIEDOWNLOADS

07-09-2008, 09:52 PM	#8
ah802 Visual Arts Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,241	Looks like Google is on our side, with a submission to the CRTC and says Bell Canada Inc. is breaking Canadian telecommunications law by slowing certain internet traffic, and is urging the CRTC to take action against the company. http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/200...c.html?ref=rss Aside from Google and Skype, parties who have made CRTC submissions supporting CAIP include: the University of Western Ontario; the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic; the Union des consommateurs; Primus Telecommunications Canada Inc.; the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association; and the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, which counts network equipment maker Alcatel Lucent among its members. CRTC expects to rule on the CAIP-Bell dispute in September and has said a larger investigation into net neutrality principles is likely.

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