Emergency Response and Wireless Location Systems     by Manlio Allegra

Home

Topics: Main | Archive   Canada Sets Rules for Internet Traffic Management The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) set new traffic management rules for Internet Service Providers. Under the framework, ISPs should give preference to Internet traffic management practices based on economic measures whenever possible. This could mean charging more for bandwidth usuage over a certain threshold or offer discounts for big downloads during off-peak hours. The practices must be transparent and clearly identified on monthly bills. Technical means to manage traffic, such as traffic shaping, should only be employed as a last resort. Traffic shaping is defined to include slowing down or prioritizing certain types of Web traffic, as well as limiting the bandwidth of heavy users. According to the Telecommunications Act, a telecommunications company must obtain the Commission's prior approval to "control the content or influence the meaning or purpose of telecommunications" carried over its network. The Commission does not consider such disruptive actions to be proper Internet traffic management practices, and they will always require prior approval. The Commission is requiring ISPs to inform consumers of their practices, which will help them to make more informed decisions about the Internet services they purchase and use. Specifically, ISPs will be required to inform retail customers at least 30 days, and wholesale customers at least 60 days, before an Internet traffic management practice takes effect. At that time, ISPs will need to describe how the practice will affect their customers' service. "The centrepiece of our approach is a framework of analysis that will be employed to determine whether economic and technical practices are acceptable," stated Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C., Chairman of the CRTC. The Commission said it intends to review, at a future date, the regulatory measures that apply to wireless service providers and their use of Internet traffic management practices. In recent years, mobile wireless services have been the fastest growing component of the telecommunications industry. http://www.crtc.gc.ca 21-Oct-09 Recent Regulatory News California Works with Sprint on First Mobile Alert System 8/25/2010 FCC's Copps & Clyburn Reclassification of Broadband 8/20/2010 U.S. Senators Raise Security Concerns about Huawei 8/20/2010 WildBlue Wins $19M Grant for Rural Satellite Broadband 8/19/2010 Congressional Leaders Warn Against Google/Verizon Pact 8/17/2010 AT&T on Net Neutrality: Wireless is Different 8/13/2010 FCC Drops Closed Door Net Neutrality Talks 8/5/2010 FCC Promotes Microwave in Wireless Backhaul. 8/5/2010 FCC Chairman Appoints Senior Advisor on Broadband 8/2/2010 New DMCA Exemptions Allow Mobile Phone Jailbreaking, Carrier Unlock 7/26/2010 Congressmen Propose Universal Service Reform Act of 2010 7/22/2010 McCain and Lieberman Propose Giving 700MHz D-Block Spectrum to First Responders 7/21/2010 FCC Finds 14-24 Million Americans Lack Access to Broadband 7/20/2010 FCC to Invest $400 /million annually in Rural Healthcare Broadband 7/15/2010 FCC Explores Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) Spectrum 7/15/2010 > More news...   Search  this site   Search the Web   Get Your Column Published Emergency Response and Wireless Location Systems by Manlio Allegra Interview: NSN's Sue Spradley on LightSquared's Wholesale Mobile Data Paradigm by Sue Spradley Mobile Backhaul Transition Requires New Testing by Joe Zeto Cybersecurity Requires Public/Private Coalition by Greg Oslan A Rethinking of Cloud Services and Network Architecture by Jim Theodoras Delivering Scalable Video Solutions <br><i> Advantages of SVC-Optimized QoS</i> by Andy Singleton     E-mail Newsletter Subscribe Now