The FCC moved to put an end to Internet throttling by ISPs when it issued a knuckle rap to Comcast over it's P2P traffic shaping. To be certain, it was a very soft knuckle rap, more of a suggestion that the cable company be more open about its plans than anything else.
So it will be interesting when we find out how the Canadians feel about traffic shaping. Canada's Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said it would rule on the fight between Bell and the Canadian Association of Internet Providers by October 31. Bell is also facing a class action lawsuit over its throttling
Bell's case is a little different than the Comcast situation. Comcast's throttling was outed by a single user whose complaints brought the attention of the Federal Communications Commission, while Bell was slammed by a coalition of 55 small ISPs whose uproar over allegedly getting throttled led them to file a protest with the Canadian regulatory agency.
The issue has become a cause celebre for net neutrality forces in the Great White North and has drawn Skype and Google into the anti-Bell forces.
Stay tuned.
For more:
See the CBC story
Related articles:
Google jumps into Bell fray. Google report
ISPs lose first round of battle with Bell ISP report
Bell Canada's DPI raises privacy concerns Bell Canada report
Net neutrality battle shapes up in Canada Net neutrality showdown report
Bell Canada throttling sparks uproar Throttling uproar report
Comcast catches heat for throttling Comcast report