Post Tagged with: "crtc"

CAIP Calls on CRTC To Reverse Bell Throttling Decision

The Canadian Association of Internet Providers has filed an application with the CRTC that calls on the Commission to rescind its November 2008 Bell throttling decision.  The application alleges multiple errors of fact and law in the decision and points specifically to the CRTC's lack of a full understanding of the issues raised in the proceeding.  CAIP argues that the CRTC specifically launched the larger net neutrality proceeding this summer in order to gain that fuller understanding, but argues that:

A broader proceeding in order to understand the complex issues raised in the CAIP application is a perfectly acceptable and responsible means of developing a thoughtful policy approach and decision on network management.  What is entirely unfair and unacceptable, however, is the fact that the Commission rendered Decision 2008-108 without the benefit of a comprehensive understanding of the factual, legal and policy issues at play.  In particular, if the Commission did not believe that it had an adequate evidentiary record or did not have a full understanding of the factual and legal issues raised by Bell's throttling of wholesale GAS services to be able to determine in an unqualified and final manner the issues raised in the CAIP proceeding, then it was procedurally unfair for the Commission to have rendered a decision on CAIP's application.

Moreover, CAIP highlights a concern raised by many in the net neutrality world – that the CRTC has already decided many of the bigger issues even before the July hearings begin.  CAIP notes that:

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May 21, 2009 7 comments News

You Can’t Handle The Truth

Jim Henshaw has a great post on the CRTC licence renewal hearings, the use of in camera hearings to keep much of the discussion out of the public domain, and the questionable claims about local broadcast viability with a new fee-for-carriage plan [hat tip: Writers Guild of Canada] .

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May 20, 2009 Comments are Disabled News

“Cataclysmic Risk”

This is how CTV's Ivan Fecan described the prospect that the CRTC require Canadian broadcasters to spend an equal amount on Canadian programming as they do on foreign (U.S.) shows.  CRTC data shows that expenditures by conventional private-sector TV on Canadian content declined in 2007 to $616 million, whereas spending […]

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May 15, 2009 3 comments News

Electronic Commerce Protection Act Headed To Committee Following Odd Debate

The Electronic Commerce Protection Act (Bill C-27) is headed for committee review following two days of rather strange debate in the House of Commons last Thursday and Friday.  What was ensued was alternately predictable and bizarre.  The predictable part was the all-party support for anti-spam legislation.  MPs from all four parties talked about the need for anti-spam legislation, how it was long overdue, it is costly, it undermines confidence, etc.

The bizarre part was the discussion on the bill's implications for the do-not-call list.  As I wrote soon after the bill was introduced, buried at the very end are provisions that kill the do-not-call list.  Given the problems associated with the list, moving toward an opt-in approach (rather than DNCL's opt-out) could be a good thing.  Yet the government seems determined to deny that the bill lays the groundwork to kill the list.

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May 12, 2009 4 comments News

Do-Not-Call List Backfires

The Times & Transcript covers the problems with the National Do-Not-Call list.

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May 11, 2009 1 comment News