A threat to net-neutrality?

Tech tips -

There is a structure near where I live that we affectionately refer to as the "Bailey Bridge." This is a simple, single-lane wood and metal bridge erected when the main bridge across the river was taken down by moving ice. We appreciate this bridge because it gives us quick access to the beach and well, my dog loves the beach so we go there quite often. (I know, we are "those" kind of pet owners! The freaky kind!)

For years now, that bridge has had a 15-ton weight limit restriction. Another bridge in our area was diagnosed with a serious structural problem and had to be closed to heavy traffic. Shortly thereafter, the good old Bailey suddenly had a 40-ton weight restriction sign posted on it.

Now, the other bridge has been repaired and low and behold, Bailey is back to being restricted to 15 tons again. Like I said, I cross this bridge quite often, and there were no physical modifications to this bridge that I could identify. Incase you are not a mathematician, that is a change of 25 tons up then 25 tons down with nothing more than a change in the sign posted on Bailey. And, all these years I thought that the limits were the result of complex engineering calculations.

Now, I am sure if I asked how Bailey's limits can change by 25 tons, someone would have an answer for me. Someone always has an answer. However, I am not going to ask. I am just going to be a little more discouraged by those that rule me, and leave it at that. (Shakes head sadly)

This brings me to this week's column topic, net neutrality. It was a wonderful fallacy for me to hope for and believe in a free and open internet. A world wide web, not controlled or driven by any one force but a conglobation of ideas and innovation from all the corners of the earth. But alas, access to the internet is not free for either me the consumer or my internet service provider.

It is no secret that the large ISPs have been practicing traffic shaping, i.e. controlling what applications get priority on the internet. This issue was drawn to the fore front when the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP) filed and application with the CRTC to have Bell cease throttling peer-to-peer file sharing. CAIP was unsuccessful in this application.

ISPs say they need to shape to control congestion in their networks. They say this is extremely important for time sensitive things like Voice over IP and online gaming. They need to prioritize for these applications and other non-time sensitive things like BitTorrent downloads can wait.

The CRTC (shakes head sadly for the second time) has taken it upon themselves to consider Internet traffic management practices for both wholesale and retail internet services and has initiated a review of traffic management practices by ISPs. (CRTC reference number 8646-C12-200815400).

The reason why I bring this up now is that starting on July 6, 2009 the CRTC held a hearing in Gatineau, Quebec concerning this proceeding. You can read the transcripts of the meeting(s) on the CRTC website at www.crtc.gc.ca

You know, this review might seem deceptively unimportant to you right now, however, the outcome of this process might determine how your internet access is delivered to you for a very long time in the future. And since I am now out of space for this week, we will have to talk more in the next column.

toddmusseau@gmail.com