READ THE STORY : http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/tech/internet/netneutrality-faq.html In Depth
Internet
Net neutrality: FAQ
The battle over whether the internet will remain open in Canada has begun in earnest
Last Updated April 1, 2008
By Peter Nowak, CBC News
Observers have called recent developments in Canadian internet access the "perfect storm" that has crystallized the need for net-neutrality legislation. First came the revelation that Bell Canada was throttling the speeds of its third-party internet resellers. Then came news that Rogers Communications was limiting how much its customers could download. Then users complained that their downloads of a CBC-TV show over BitTorrent were slowed because of throttling. To put the icing on the cake, a national union officially asked the telecommunications regulator to protect internet users from traffic interference by service providers. The net neutrality debate has exploded in Canada. But what exactly is it all about?
What is net neutrality?
Definitions vary, but most advocates of neutrality agree it has evolved into the principle that the internet should be kept open and free from interference or restrictions from service providers. Purposely downgrading speeds of certain internet users or giving one website faster speeds than another are both seen as violations of what has been called the "First Amendment" of the internet.
What is tiered service?
Tiered service does not apply to what internet subscribers pay for their access. It applies to what content owners, such as people or organizations operating websites, would pay internet service providers for hosting their material online. Just as customers can now choose different access speeds at different prices, under a tiered system content owners would also choose how fast their websites and other online data would be transmitted across the internet. Critics say such a system would allow ISPs to charge twice for the same service.
Why is this bad?
Advocates of net neutrality say a tiered system will favour bigger companies that can afford to pay ISPs for the faster speeds, which will give them an unfair advantage over smaller firms and individuals. This could prevent the next Google or Amazon from happening, since those companies started small but were able to experiment and grow on the internet without restrictions.
What is traffic shaping?
ISPs have equipment that can detect what customers are using their connections for. They can tell how much e-mail a customer is sending and receiving, or if they are using their connection for online gaming. They can also tell whether customers are using peer-to-peer software, such as Skype or BitTorrent. Traffic shaping occurs when the ISP directs speeds — or bandwidth — to the different types of applications, thus making one, such as e-mail, faster while slowing another, such as BitTorrent.
Why do ISPs shape traffic?
ISPs say a small portion of their customers are clogging up the internet by using the majority of its bandwidth, which slows down everyone else's connections. Critics say they do it to limit applications that threaten their own lines of business. Internet calling application Skype, for example, uses peer-to-peer technology to provide free phone calls and therefore competes with the phone services offered by many ISPs.
….READ COMPLETE STORY
What is the state of net neutrality in Canada?
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission decided against regulating the internet in 1999. The regulator is in the midst of reviewing its jurisdiction over new media, which includes net neutrality issues, and is set to make its report in May. Minister of Industry Jim Prentice has been silent on net neutrality. In late February, the federal standing committee on Canadian heritage urged the CRTC to adopt net neutrality principles in order to prevent the CBC from competing at a disadvantage against the broadcast offerings of ISPs such as Rogers. The National Union of General and Public Employees in March also officially asked the regulator to institute net neutrality rules and end traffic shaping and throttling.
What about elsewhere?
Most countries are watching the net neutrality unfold in the United States, where it is receiving serious government attention. In February, the U.S. Congress introduced the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008, which would ban discriminatory practices by ISPs. Also in February, the Federal Communications Commission held hearings on the traffic-shaping practices of Comcast Corp., the country's largest ISP, which resulted in the company promising to cease its discriminatory actions by the end of 2008.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/tech/internet/netneutrality-faq.html
