Wireless Community

“Michael Geist reports”:1 on a complaint that Vonage Canada has filed against Shaw for Shaw’s “quality of service enhancement”, which appears to be the first major discriminatory move against Vonage by a telco or cableco. The issues involved in this case are far-reaching, and particularly pertinent to the “Network Neutrality”:2 issue. If Shaw is providing a proper high-speed internet service, then Vonage users should generally be provided good quality phone service via their high-speed internet connection. But issues with VoIP service might be nothing more than anti-competitive tactics by the incumbent telco or cableco, and the end user would be none the wiser.

bq. Vonage Canada has filed a complaint with the CRTC against Shaw over Shaw’s VoIP premium surcharge. The cable company charges a $10 “quality of service enhancement” fee for VoIP users, which Vonage is characterizing as a VoIP tax. Vonage argues that because it “competes directly with the telephone services of the network operators that also provide the high-speed Internet access, the incentives to discriminate against us are clear. This will result in less innovation, less choice and higher prices for Canadian consumers in the long run.”

bq. This could become a hugely important case since much of the two-tier Internet is based on similar enhancement fees for either customers or web services. The CRTC mistakenly declined to address the net neutrality last year in its VoIP decision, despite considerable evidence that this was an emerging issue that could have debilitating effect on the Internet. In the months since that decision, both the telcos and cable cos have openly discussed their plans for a two-tier Internet. While it appears that Vonage has focused primarily on the need for greater transparency with the Shaw fee, this has opened the door to the CRTC becoming more engaged on network neutrality.

[1]http://michaelgeist.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1147&Itemid=85
[2]http://www.wirelesscommunity.info/network-neutrality

Filed under: Network Neutrality, News, Policy