Telecom Trends

I saw a headline that reads "B.C. Government Voices Support for Net Neutrality" and the story describes one small aspect of a submission by Network BC to the CRTC's network management proceeding.

It isn't clear to me that Network BC's view of net neutrality is really the same as the vision of many others in that camp.

If you actually read the submission [zip, 752 KB], you will see that Network BC advocates strict acceptable use policies.

acceptable use policies ("AUPs") can be relied upon to monitor and police usage abuses...

AUPs should not be limited to infrastructure owners but are practices that should be adopted by all ISPs. AUPs are a practical way to manage traffic and maximize revenues.

Further, Network BC acknowledges that "Aggressive traffic shapers must continue to constrain traffic flows where their networks are not capable of handling increasing traffic demands."

These two points - managing limited network facilities through traffic shaping and imposing AUPs - are hardly an unqualified endorsement of net neutrality principles.

Acceptable use policies imply that there are also unacceptable uses. How does one reconcile AUPs with the open and accessible network that Vinton Cerf describes as inviting and inducing creativity and innovation.

In fact, one might argue that deep packet inspection is simply a technology that polices AUPs without blocking traffic. As such, with a careful read of the filing, one might not conclude that Network BC's submission voices support for the same type of net neutrality as advocated by others.

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Network BC, CRTC, network management