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What Canada Can Teach the US About Net Neutrality

Posted by samzenpus on from the what-to-do-and-what-not-to-do dept.

blottsie writes If there are two ways in which the Internet is similar in the United States and Canada, it's that it's slow and expensive in both places relative to many developed countries. The big difference, however, is that Canada is looking into doing something about it. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission—the northern equivalent of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)— is examining how the wholesale market, where smaller Internet service providers (ISPs) use parts of bigger companies' networks to sell their own services, should operate in the years ahead. The industry reaction to this proposal provides insights to the potential consequences of re-classifying broadband in the U.S. as a Title II public utility.

9 of 80 comments (clear)

  1. Need a better opinion by rogoshen1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Could someone (who is preferably a frequent contributor) explain what this article is about in no less than 20,000 words?

    Thanks.

  2. The US doesn't need to be taught by quietwalker · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This isn't a matter of lack of knowledge or understanding. The US doesn't need to be taught, or led.

    The US is currently on the divide between protecting consumers from potentially abusive practices or allowing businesses to run rough-shod over them. It's a debate regarding priorities between business, consumers, the economy, and social welfare, and despite my strong feelings on the subject, on a national level, there's no silver bullet answer that 'fixes it', especially since Canada hasn't actually done anything either, but commission a study.

    In fact, studies of the sort that are being done in Canada have already been done in the US, at several different points in time, and the recommendation they had then was one of non-interference. With the inability for congress to act in any way other than to block action, that's likely how it's going to go.

    What we could use is a surefire way to figure out how to light all the democrats and republicans on fire, and replace them with politicians that actually care more about the people they're meant to represent than their next elections, party, or party politics. If you've got one of those, let us know, cause THAT's what we're in dire need of.

    1. Re:The US doesn't need to be taught by Guspaz · · Score: 3, Informative

      In terms of net neutrality, the CRTC did a heck of a lot more than commission a study, they put their ITMP framework into effect. It's essentially regulation requiring net neutrality be preserved. It's been enforced in the past (when the country's largest cable company was throttling some online games) and has issues currently under review (for a case where mobile phone companies were not counting their own video streaming apps against transfer caps, but were counting apps like Netflix).

      It wasn't complicated or simple. We didn't have network neutrality. Then they put some straightforward regulation into effect, and then we did have network neutrality, and a framework for what consumers can do when they need to report a violation.

      It's worth noting that the CRTC review of both of the net neutrality violations that I mentioned above were instigated by regular consumers filing a complaint, without any lawyers getting involved (on the consumer side). In the first case, the CRTC ruled against the cableco, and in the second case it's still in progress.

  3. What is it? by jamesl · · Score: 5, Interesting

    No posting on Slashdot about Net Neutrality without including what you think Net Neutrality is.

    It is many things to many people. Most wrong.

    What is it? I don't know. Tell me.

    1. Re:What is it? by Skarjak · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's what happens when you mix basic net with acidic net.

  4. Re:Nope by davester666 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yes, it will totally be better for 10 ISPs to decide which web sites will work properly or even be accessible by their customers.

    "Hi. Would you like to sign up for turbo-speed AT&T Internet? Yes we have AT&T Facebook. Sorry, there is no AT&T Youtube, but we are working with Google to bring it to you soon."

    --
    Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  5. What Korea can teach US in true broadband by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The US of A was the world's first nation in implementing broadband, to pave the road for the "Information Highway". That was a few decades ago

    Now, the US of A trails behind Korea, Japan, Estonia, and a few other countries in the availability of TRUE BROADBAND that is affordable for the masses

    The US consumer not only have to pay through their noses for broadband, and what they got are miserably slow, in compared with what the Koreans (for example) are getting

    US of A should learn from other countries to find out how to remedy and rectify the current pathetic situation

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
    1. Re:What Korea can teach US in true broadband by Harlequin80 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Of course S.Korea has an internet capability funded by the government with multiple low cost loans provided to infrastructure builders over the past 20 years. In addition they have actively blocked any moves towards monopoly status.

  6. What is it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    There is only one correct definition and the rest is noise. Net neutrality is the idea that all packets get equal treatment, regardless of source, destination, or anything in the packet's payload (especially in layers 4+).
    Net neutrality has _absolutely_nothing_ to do with usage-based billing or unlimited rates or flat throttling of all traffic after reaching some threshold. This is where I think all the confusion is.

    Basically, it's the principle of treading network traffic as a dumb utility like water, where the only metric which should be used to make any sort of decisions (and bills) is the volume; the number of bits moving in and out of a port.