Rogers Communications Warns Against Traffic Shaping Ban

11:35 am on July 13, 2009 | Category: Editorials, Internet, Regulation, Telecom Services

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Federal regulators should leave internet traffic shaping powers in the hands of ISPs, argued Canada’s leading cable company, Rogers Communications, at a CRTC hearing today.

Rogers admits that it sometimes slows down certain types of traffic, but says that such steps are necessary to keep its broadband network running efficiently for all subscribers. The practice only affects users who are transferring large files (such as movies) during busy times of the day, the company says.

But critics claim that discrimination between different kinds of traffic raises possible privacy concerns. The process of differentiating traffic, known as Deep Packet Inspection, is akin to a postal service “looking inside the envelope,” according to Professor David Reed, testifying on behalf of the Campaign for Democratic Media.

A better metaphor, however, might be the universally-accepted practice of weighing a package before sending it. It would seem silly to suggest that Canada Post should not “discriminate” between one-page letters and 50-pound parcels when managing the postal system.

Ultimately, it is unrealistic to suggest that the CRTC should second-guess the traffic management practices of ISPs who are seeking only to speed up their networks and provide better service to the majority of consumers. The only role of regulators in this process is to ensure honesty and transparency so that consumers can make an informed choice when choosing an ISP.

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    1. no. your interpretation and comparison to weighing envelopes is not accurate since ALL traffic on the internet is broken down into single packets, large files and small files alike appear the same to the routing equipment. what Rogers and their ilk want to do, is determine the priority of your traffic based SOLELY upon the application from which they believe you are using. for example, if they think you are using a Bit torrent application, they will slow you down, no matter the size of file, or questionable nature of it’s potential copyright holders. the issue is, their deep packet inspection is not guaranteed to be accurate as many different applications can often be mis-labeled by such software. i know this, because i actually use deep packet inspection on a daily basis.

      the level of accuracy in reporting these stories is embarrassing.

      Comment by livininparkdale — July 13, 2009 #

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    Edited by Jeremy Maddock