Internet
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will hear witnesses over the next six days in Gatineau, Quebec, on the issue of “net neutrality.” Proponents say Internet providers should not be allowed to deliver some companies Web content and services faster than others.
After the hearings, the commission will issue guidelines that “will take into account both the freedom of individuals to use the Internet as they wish and the legitimate interest of Internet service providers to manage their networks,” CRTC Chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said at the hearings today.
The hearings may lead the CRTC to regulate the Internet for the first time. The regulator said 10 years ago that it would let the market develop before imposing rules, and decided last month it wouldnt impose constraints on television over the Internet and mobile phones.
BCE Inc., Canadas biggest phone company, won CRTC permission last year to slow Internet speed for customers who resell their service. Wholesalers, represented by the Canadian Association of Internet Providers, complained that clients using peer-to-peer software faced slower Internet speeds during the evening, a practice also known as “traffic shaping.”