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Thursday October 06, 2011 |
The CRTC released its fact-finding
report
on over-the-top video yesterday. I'll have more to say on the
report
in my column next week, but in the meantime the money quote is:
the evidence does not demonstrate
that the presence of OTT providers in Canada and greater consumption of
OTT content is having a negative impact on the ability of the system to
achieve the policy objectives of the Broadcasting Act or that there are
structural impediments to a competitive response by licensed
undertakings to the activities of OTT providers.
In other words, no harm, nothing to stop Canadian providers from
entering the marketplace, and no need for regulation (for now).
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Friday September 23, 2011 |
Earlier this year, I launched an access-to-information request with the
CRTC requesting all records related to net neutrality complaints filed
under the Commission's 2009 Internet traffic management practices
decision. The result was a post titled Canada's Net
Neutrality Enforcement Failure, which listed dozens of complaints
and a discouraging lack of CRTC investigation into them. The post
concluded:
After more than 30 investigations in
nearly two years, it is clear improvements are needed. At a minimum,
the CRTC should be publishing all public complaints and resolutions so
that the issues obtain a public airing. Moreover, the system needs
penalties for violations as well as pro-active audits to ensure
Internet providers are compliant with their obligations. Without
change, the CRTC’s net neutrality rules offer little protection for
Canadian Internet users.
Yesterday the CRTC took a first step in this direction by releasing new
guidelines
for responding to complaints and enforcing the rules. The best aspect
of the ruling is a commitment to publish quarterly reports featuring a
summary of the number and types of complaints it has received,
including the number of active and resolved complaints. Moreover, any
findings of non-compliance will be published on the Commission’s
website and will include the ISP’s name and the nature of the
complaint. The move toward greater transparency is welcome and an
important step in pressuring ISPs to comply with the guidelines. The
new guidelines also establish a strict timeline for responses by
complainants and ISPs, which should help avoid Xplorenet-type
situations that dragged on for months before the ISP addressed
complaints over its traffic management practices.
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Thursday September 22, 2011 |
This past summer's usage based billing hearing featured a critical
moment when CRTC Vice-Chair Len Katz asked a question of independent
ISPs that made it clear the commissioners were finally getting it. Katz
started from the following
premise:
I guess I come from the position that
we, the Commission, have already recognized there is a need to create
competition, more competition in order to protect Canadians, and
facilities-based competition is not yet here. So it's our job to
find a vehicle to create that competition and, in the simplest terms,
it is to create an environment where broadband would be made available
to a third party through a lease arrangement.
The acknowledgement about the state of Canadian competition and the
responsibility of the regulator to address the issue was long overdue.
While the UBB decision is still forthcoming, Katz's comments provide
some
reason for optimism. Yesterday's CRTC vertical
integration decision
contained a similar statement that offered a strong indication that the
Commission got the concerns associated with vertically integrated media
companies that can use their market power in a manner that harms
consumer choice :
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Thursday September 22, 2011 |
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David Ellis has a must-read
post
on Rogers game throttling and the lack of action by the CRTC. The post
comes as the CRTC prepares to issue updated guidelines on net
neutrality complaints.
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