CRTC Slaps Rogers for Throttling Non-P2P Traffic

January 20, 2012 - The Canadian Gamers Organization got word today that the CRTC's enforcement division has found Rogers to not be non-compliant with CRTC net neutrality policy, and that it's throttling software and hardware are actively misclassifying a wide range of applications and communication ports.  The CRTC has cited evidence obtained and published by Cisco Systems (the hardware and software vendor Rogers uses for throttling), and has threatened a show/cause hearing on this subject if Rogers' response is insufficient or fails to respond.  If it goes to a hearing, the CRTC could file an order with the courts to force Rogers to reimburse affected customers.

In its letter the CRTC stated:

As you know, prior Commission approval is required pursuant to section 36 of the Act, as described at paragraphs 126 and 127 of TRP CRTC 2009-657, for implementing a technical ITMP that results in:

•    noticeable degradation to time-sensitive traffic, or
•    the slowing of non-time-sensitive traffic to the extent that it amounts to blocking the content and therefore controlling the content and influencing the meaning and purpose of the telecommunication.

Within two weeks, I look forward to you either presenting us with a rebuttal of our evidence or providing us with a plan to come into compliance with the Act. Failure to provide a meaningful rebuttal or an effective plan will result in my recommendation to Commissioners to hold a show-cause hearing.  I look forward to your response by 12:00 pm, February 3, 2012.

"This is a historic day in Canadian tech and telecom history. This is a big win for not just Canadian Internet users but also for game developers, who have also been extremely frustrated with the use of throttling.  We hope that the evidence uncovered today by the CRTC's investigations will also help game developers improve online environments.  Their product is being hindered by Cisco's throttling equipment causing problems with connectivity and lag in a lot of gaming environments." Co-Founder Jason Koblovsky stated.

Co-Founder Teresa Murphy added, "I think we're all just glad that the CRTC looked further into the issue and essentially agreed with our October 14th response to the Commission where we stated other games and programs were being affected by faulty throttling equipment and software.  Jason, myself, and I'm sure many other gamers on Rogers Cable Internet, are all looking forward to the day that this entire fiasco is resolved, as its been a long time coming now.  I hope in the future, Rogers will run more extensive testing of their throttling rules before pushing them to all their systems.  I also hope that in the future, if a Rogers employee promises to their customers that they'll have the update reverted because it caused problems with multiple programs (as what happened in October 2010 on the Rogers forum on DSLReports.com - a forum which Rogers employees release official statements on), Rogers will actually follow through on the promise instead of leaving customers blowing in the wind."

About The Canadian Gamers Organization:

The Canadian Gamers Organization (CGO) helps Canadian gamers have a voice among industry, regulators, and politicians. The CGO believes that games are not just games, they are products under law. They are highly sophisticated pieces of software that run on high end consoles and systems. Canadian consumers should gain the maximum enjoyment when playing the products we buy.

Contact:
Jason Koblovsky
Co-Founder
jkoblovsky@gmail.com