Broadband and Net Neutrality · Broadband and Net Neutrality WHY IT MATTERS FOR CANADA. WHY IT MATTERS TO YOU. NATIONAL PENSIONERS FEDERATION 72ND CONVENTION, 2016. Public Interest

BroadbandandNetNeutralityWHYITMATTERSFORCANADA.WHYITMATTERSTOYOU.

NATIONALPENSIONERSFEDERATION72ND CONVENTION,2016

PublicInterestAdvocacyCentreØPIACisnational,non-profitorganizationandregisteredcharitythatprovideslegalandresearchservicesonbehalfofconsumerinterests,and,inparticular,vulnerableconsumerinterests,concerningtheprovisionofimportantpublicservices.ØPIAChasrepresentedNPFinseveralhighprofilehearingsbeforetheCRTConimportanttelecommunicationsandbroadcastingmatters.Øwww.piac.ca

Broadband:Accessibility,Quality,AffordabilityØAccess:Whereisit;canIgetit(whereIlive);whattechnologyisit?ØQuality:Howfastisit;howreliableisit;isitgoodenoughtodowhatIneedtodonowandinthefuture?ØAffordability:Howmuchdoesitcost?Doesitfitmybudget?CanItailorittomyneeds?Canitreplaceolderservices(e.g.,wirelinetelephone,cableTV)?Doesitaffectthecostofotherservices(bundling)?Canitsavememoney?

BasicServiceObjectiveHearingØCRTChearinginto“basicservice”– nowmeansbroadbandinternetaswellastelephone(wirelineandwireless)ØTodetermine“basictelecommunications”whichallCanadiansshouldexpecttoaccessØPIACandNPF(withothers)arguedthatbroadbandwas“basictelecommunications”andtheminimumspeedshouldbe10Mbpsdownloadand1MbpsuploadØPIAC&NPFalsoarguedthatitmustbeaffordable

BasicServiceObjectiveHearing- 2ØNPFPresidentHerbJohntestifiedthat“insomeways,broadbandismoreimportanttoseniorsthattoothers.”ØSurveyswefiledshowsthathomeinternetisimportantacrossallages,andforseniors,mostimportantØSurveysalsoshowedage55+weremorelikelytobundlebroadbandwithtelephoneorTVserviceandlesslikelytoswitchinternetprovidersØSeniorsareuniquelyaffectedbybaselinebroadband

AffordableBroadbandforAllØPIAC&NPFthereforeaskedCRTCfor:ØAn“accesssubsidy”toensureeveryone,everywhere,esp.ruralandremoteCanada(withhigherpopulationsofseniors)have10/1MbpsbroadbandØAn“affordabilitysubsidy”ofbetween$10- $20amonthforlow-incomeCanadianstohelpthemaffordbroadband

ØPIAC&NPFawaitthedecision– expectedDecember2016ØNote:CanadahasnoNationalBroadbandPlanlikeU.S.A.

NetNeutralityØWhatisit?Whydoesthismatter?WhyshouldIcare?ØNetNeutralityisactuallytwothings:lawandpolicy.ØLaw of“commoncarriage”hasappliedtopublicutility-likeservicessuchtelecommunicationssincethetelegraphØPolicy of“netneutrality”hasarisenwiththeInternetØCombinationoftwokeepsInternetopenandaccessible,highqualityandhopefullyatalowerprice

Law:CommonCarriageØCommoncarriagemeansthe“carrier”(telcoorISP)must:ØServeallcustomerswhowantserviceØCharge“justandreasonable”rates,madepublicØTreat/chargeallcustomersequally(nounjustdiscrimination)ØProvideservicewith“duecare”(adequatequality)

ØHOWEVER,sincelate1990s fortelephoneandalways,forInternetservice,CRTChasonlyrequirednounjustdiscrimination,sayingthefreemarketwouldpolicetherest

NetNeutralityØNetneutralitycomesfromthe“endtoend”networkdesignprincipleofthe“open”InternetØTrafficispassedwithoutmodificationorinterferencebynetworkprovidersaccordingtoequalprotocolsØLeavescontrol“attheedge”ofnetwork;meansapplicationsandusersdriveuseofInternetanditsshapeØCreatesapolicyofdecentralizationthatfavoursindividuality,autonomyandfreespeech

Canadian“NetNeutrality”DecisionsØCRTCwasarguablyfirstregulatortoaddressnetneutralityin2009indecisionthatrestrictedISPs“throttling”speedØIn2014,CRTCforbadeBellCanadafromfavouring itsownvideocontentovertheInternetbynotchargingforthisdataØIn2015,CRTCtookPIACcomplaintaboutsimilar“zero-rating”ofmusicstreamingservicesonVideotroninQuebecØCRTCmadethiscomplaintintomajorhearingaboutallzero-rating.PIAC:unjustdiscrimination;netneutralitywins

ThreatstoNetNeutralityØInternetServiceProviders(ISPs)whichinsertthemselvesintheinter-networkingbetweencustomerandservicesthreatentheendtoendprinciplewithunjustlydiscriminatoryactions.Why?ØU.S.FederalCommunicationsCommission(FCC)says:ØISPshavethetechnicalmeans todiscriminateandcontrolØISPshavetheeconomicincentive todiscriminateandcontrol

ØCRTChasyettoacknowledgethisthreatexplicitly– ISPscanchargeforaccessorunfairlydiscountsomeInternettraffic

Whyis“zero-rating”badforyou?ØUnjustdiscriminationhurtsyoubecause:ØIfyoudon’tusethefreeservice,youarestillpayingforitØIfwhatyouwanttowatch,listentoorviewisn’tfavoured – youmaypaymore– becauseyoumayexceedyourdatacap

ØFavoured servicesareoverwhelminglyaimedattheyoungØUnjust discriminationhurtsothersbecause:ØSmaller“edgeproviders”can’tmakedealswithbigISPsØISPsare“gatekeepers”and“pickwinnersandlosers”ØISPsarelessincentivizedtoimprovethenetworkthey“manage”

Whatcanyou(andNPF)do?ØNPFhasjoinedPIACinthefightoverbroadbandaccess,qualityandaffordabilityaswellasnetneutralityandzero-rating.Asamember,youcan:ØExpressyouropiniontoNPF’sBoardØCommentdirectlyduringtheCRTChearingonzero-ratingØTalktoothersaboutbroadbandandnetneutralityandwhybothareimportant

ØWrite,calloremailyourMemberofParliament–telecommunicationsisafederalresponsibilityandthefederalgovernmenthasbeenvirtuallysilentaboutbothtopics

Thankyouandquestions?