OTTAWA – Throttling is so 2011, according to Bell Canada. In a letter sent to the CRTC this week, representatives from Bell and Bell Aliant said that the company has decided to stop using Internet traffic management practices (ITMPs) on its networks for both retail and wholesale traffic effective March 1, 2012.
While noting that “streamed video and other traffic, P2P file-sharing, as a proportion of total traffic, has been diminishing”, the company credited its “extensive investments” in network capacity as one reason for discontinuing the controversial practice.
“The Companies have consistently maintained that they would continue to monitor the need for ITMPs and evaluate the best means of ensuring a good user experience for the majority of its users”, reads the letter, dated December 19. “Nevertheless, and in light of the extensive investments the Companies have made in additional network capacity, and given economic ITMPs in the marketplace, the Companies will withdraw the shaping of P2P traffic on the Companies' networks, with regards to both retail and wholesale traffic, effective 1 March 2012.”
Bell also said that the Commission’s recent decision on usage based billing, where it elected to adopt a capacity-based system, was also a factor in its decision to cease its traffic shaping practices.
