CRTC hearing addresses Internet traffic

July 06, 2009 Dave Caputo, president and CEO of Sandvine, which makes broadband networking software and equipment, told the regulator that "world events," like a celebrity singer dying, produced peak loads for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that can't be predicted. The discussion around Michael Jackson points up a dilemma facing the CRTC: allow domestic cable and phone giants to continue to shape internet traffic to ease or eliminate online congestion, or go with proponents of net neutrality and maintain a free flow of content online. The CRTC's von Finckenstein said the CRTC was exploring whether technology existed to enable Internet users to be charged for excessive uploading or downloading, which would remove the need for wholesale traffic shaping.

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