Articles by: Michael Geist

isohuntlawsuit

isohuntlawsuit.pdf

February 13, 2011 — Comments are Disabled — General

CNOC on the CRTC UBB Review: It’s Re-Arranging Deck Chairs on the Titanic

The Canadian Network Operators Consortium, which represents two dozen independent ISPs, has asked the CRTC to expand the scope of its usage based billing consultation. Rather than limit the review primarily to UBB, CNOC says the review should:

include a comprehensive review of the regulatory framework applicable to all wholesale high-speed access services (â€œWHSASâ€) provided by incumbent local exchange carriers and cable carriers (collectively â€œincumbentsâ€) to their competitors and to include from the outset, in the expanded proceeding, an online consultation and a public hearing, and certain additional procedural steps.

The letter makes it clear that CNOC is seeking nothing less than a complete overhaul of the regulatory framework for broadband competition in Canada. The organization argues that “incumbent wholesale high-speed services, including the last-mile access, constitute the broadband platform that competitors need to offer almost all telecommunications and broadcasting services to consumers.” It adds:

February 12, 2011 — 25 comments — News

CNOC Letter on UBB

Letter to Robert Morin 20110211 Final.pdf

February 12, 2011 — Comments are Disabled — General

Saving the Best for Last: Bell’s Network Congestion Admission

As is often the case with House of Commons committee hearings, yesterday’s Industry Committee hearing on usage based billing saved the best for last. Addressing a specific question from the chair about the separation of IPTV and Internet services on Bell’s network, Bell’s Mirko Bibic responded:

There is a copper loop that goes from our Central Office to the home and all data travels on that pipe so it’s Internet traffic, it’s television traffic, it’s actually voice traffic, long distance traffic, but that’s not where there are general congestion issues. The real issue is when you get to the Central Office and you go behind that to the general Internet, FIBE TV is completely different.

Bell’s comments are noteworthy since they confirm that there is no congestion in the “last mile” – the connection between the user and the so-called Central Office. At the moment, Bell aggregates the data from both its own retail customers and independent ISPs at this stage (which it says causes the congestion necessitating traffic shaping and UBB), though the independent ISP subscriber traffic later goes to the independent ISP before heading to the Internet. The “congestion problem” is therefore not at the last mile nor at the Internet – it is in the intermediate stage between the two.

February 11, 2011 — 62 comments — News

Canadian Council of Archives on C-32: Digital Lock Rules Disastrous For Long-Term Access

The Canadian Council of Archives, a national non-profit organization dedicated to nurturing and sustaining the nationwide efforts of over 800 archives across Canada, has submitted a brief to the C-32 legislative committee and requested an opportunity to appear. While the CCA brief (~~not yet online~~) touches on several issues, including photographs and orphan works, its comments on the digital lock rules are particularly noteworthy:

Bill C-32 prohibits the circumvention of TPMs for legal purposes such as preservation activities used by archivists to protect the documentary heritage of Canada. This is completely unacceptable and is a matter of very grave concern to the Canadian archives community in the digital environment where obsolescence is both rapid and disastrous for long-term access. The CCA recommends that Bill C-32 be amended to provide that circumvention of TPMs is prohibited only when the circumvention is for the purpose of infringing copyright and that circumvention tools and services should be available for non-infringing uses.

February 10, 2011 — 10 comments — News