Well, yes and no, depending on your opinion of the principle of Net Neutrality

So the question is, what is net neutrality, and why should we care?

Well, let's start with a little history lesson on the internet.

Vint Cerf + Bob Kahn, the 'founding fathers' of the internet, are responsible for the underlying design principle of the internet which is called end-to-end. Dim lights

The first packet-switched network, called ARPANET, was created with the notion that infomation sent along the network would be transported from one point to another throughout the internet by "best effort transmission."

If a piece of information was lost along the way, it would simply re route and find an alternative path.

The network structure had no implications on the formation of the content transported--all centralized power relating to the form and size of files were determined at the ends of the connection via the applications that WE, the users, install on our computers.

Now, this principle was used at a time where networks were purposely constructed for academic use only: but today, as we know, content surrounding health, current affairs, entertainment, etc. are all facets of the internet.

Because the internet has become such a cultural commodity, it's no surprise that businesses are now a fundamental part of the internet model, and why we now have an issue that circulates the notion of Net Neutrality.

So, now that we've sorted out the background info on Net Neutrality, now we arrive at a comprehensive definition:

Net Neutrality, is the equal and neutral access that users are to have to any content of their choosing when using the internet. Such access should not be impeded in any way by government or businesses that do so for self-serving purposes (e.g. discouraging fair competition within the market) It is the notion that censorship should not exist within the realm of the internet, for centralization of power should--as it has since its emergence--remain at the location of end users, rather than within the network and the operators that control it (e.g. ISPs.)

The Canadian Radio Telecommunications Commission, an independent agency that works at an arms-length with the government , is responsible for all media regulations in relation to broadcast and telecommunications in Canada.  

It is their mandate to ensure that regulations are put in place to protect the interests of Canadians. Now, currently, the CRTC has declared that there is no need to regulate retail internet (meaning the internet that, we, consumers have access to.)

Their reasoning for this is due to their belief that there is enough competition within the internet market to keep prices low for customers.

The CRTC has also implemented their Internet Traffic Management Practices, which allows ISPs to facilitate two types of functions: economic and technical.

The economic function of the ITMP relates to the idea that ISPs can place bandwidth caps on their internet service to help discourage 'bandwidth hogs' from consuming 'too much data,' and if they do, they do this at a price.

The technical function is called 'throttling,' where an ISP is able to slow down certain types of traffic at certain times of day as they are considered to be 'high volume traffic' times (for instance, around 4:30 PM for all P2P activities) This is done through a technique called "data packet inspecting."

This very principle has been the subject to heated debates, some groups joining together and claiming this goes against the notion of Net Neutrality.

Those in support of net neutrality say that data caps create a false notion of scarcity when bandwidth is in excess.

They also argue that throttling is a form of censorship, where it essentially discourages users to access content due to the lag in speeds, where specific forms of content are given priority over others.

So, imagine you want to log on to your favourite website. Due to agreements made with content providers and ISPs behind closed doors,your website happens to be given low priority, meaning that your website is inaccessible due to the extremely low speed it takes to load. So, you get frustrated and decide to visit an alternative website that provides similar content. So in the end, YOU the internet user are no longer in control of your internet browsing experience...

Yet the CRTC defends their ITMP by indicating that as long as ISPs are clear with their customers as to how they choose to carry out these functions, and as long as ISPs are contributing to innovating their network infrustructure, such practises are justified.

So, there's some food for thought.

Now, what's your take on the net neutrality debate?

Tune in for our Net Neutrality Part II segment where I'll be discussing the heated topic surrounding the recent decisions that the CRTC has made in relation to net neutrality with a guest expert on telecommunications and regulatory affairs.

My name is Jessica Rayes and thanks for watching another episode of tech-ER