Net neutrality in Canada under siege: Bell implements “traffic shaping” service to throttle Internet access

Michael Lithgow — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 13:01:24 +0000

Bell Canada - Canada's largest internet provider - is going ahead with its plan to undermine net neutrality. They call it “traffic shaping” and “traffic management”, but what it adds up to is the end of net neutrality for anyone on the Bell system. This includes Bell customers and non-Bell customers who contract with third party ISPs who use the Bell system.

Bell and other Canadian ISPs such as Rogers have been “traffic managing” for over a year, slowing some kinds of traffic down while privileging others. The data that Bell tends to target for slow down is peer-to-peer and torrent traffic. Last week, Bell applied the same “traffic shaping” controls to its third party ISPs, service providers who use the Bell system but who are independent companies with their own clients. What this means is that Bell is screwing, not only with its own customers' data, but with the accounts of third party Internet users.

Do you know whose system your ISP is using?

April 7 is the date Bell has set to have the “traffic shaping” procedures implemented across its entire network.

Check out the Bell the Throttler video -- helps to explain the warp and waft of the Bell attack on net neutrality.

For more information, check out Michael Geist's blog . To get involved in the campaign to save the internet from telecommunications robber Barons, contact Campaign for Democratic Media.

The Dominion - robber barons

Net neutrality in Canada under siege: Bell implements “traffic shaping” service to throttle Internet access