NUPGE disappointed CRTC sides with Bell on Internet throttling

Ottawa (14 May 2008) - The National Union of Public and General
Employees (NUPGE) is disappointed with today*s decision by the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to
allow Bell Canada to continue to throttling Internet access speeds to
its subscribers.

At the heart of the issue is a concern over Internet neutrality which
is the principle that all Internet traffic be treated equally,
regardless of origin, destination or the software used to create it.
There has been growing demand for Internet neutrality in Canada coming
from a number of organizations including NUPGE, the Canadian Internet
Policy and Public Interest Clinic and the federal New Democratic Party.

The Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP), which represents
55 smaller ISPs that rent portions of Bell's network in order to provide
internet services to their own customers, filed a complaint last month
asking the CRTC for an urgent cease-and-desist order against Bell
Canada. Today*s decision by the CRTC rejects the CAIP complaint and
allows Bell Canada to continue throttling Internet traffic.

However, NUPGE is optimistic that the decision may only be a short-term
victory for Bell Canada and that the issue is far from settled. The
union is encouraged that the regulatory body will be launching a wider
probe into the issue that will include public consultations.

In a letter to Industry Minister Jim Prentice last month, NUPGE
national president James Clancy called on the federal government to hold
open, public consultations on the need for legislation to protect the
principle of Internet neutrality.

In the letter Clancy said that *concerns over Internet neutrality are
rising and there has been a lack of action to date on the part of the
government to protect consumers and producers from abusive practices
such as traffic throttling * your government must act to ensure the
Internet is open and accessible to all Canadians."

While the CRTC today ruled that CAIP did not meet the standard for
interim relief it also recognized that Bell's throttling of internet
speeds was a serious issue.

Internet law expert Michael Geist was not surprised by the decision but
was also encouraged that the regulator is prepared to conduct a more
substantive probe into the issue: "The standard for interim relief is
very high and given the ability to provide monetary compensation at a
later date, the CRTC took a pass on stopping the throttling practices
based on a limited record of evidence ... however the CRTC has left the
door open to addressing throttling and net neutrality in a serious way."
NUPGE

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Len Bush
National Representative
National Union of Public and General Employees
15 Auriga Drive
Nepean, ON, K2E 1B7
(613) 228-9800 (ph) / (613) 228-9801 (fax)
www.nupge.ca