OTTAWA – The CRTC received a total of 75 complaints in 2012 from consumers claiming that Internet service providers (ISPs) were slowing down certain types of traffic. But more than half of the complaints regarding Internet traffic management practices came during the first three months of 2012 when 39 complaints were submitted to the Commission. Complaints have since fallen to a total of 26 for the past six months, with 13 recorded during the final three months of 2012.
Upon the receipt of a complaint regarding a traffic management practice, CRTC staff forward the complaint to the ISP in question and request a response. If the ISP fails to respond or bring itself into compliance, the CRTC will take further action to enforce its policy. This can include meeting with the ISP to discuss a complaint in more detail, requesting an on-site inspection or independent third-party audit, or calling the ISP to a public hearing.
If the CRTC finds that an ISP is not in compliance with the policy, it will publish the company’s name and the nature of the complaint. In addition, the CRTC will publish, four times a year, a summary of the number and types of complaints it has received, including the number that have been resolved and those that are still under investigation.
