What is this about?
The net neutrality controversy is about how the internet will function in the future. Recent deviations from the principle of neutrality by some of Canada’s largest telecommunications companies have put the issue of how we want the internet to function squarely before us. Canadians must make choices about how the internet should be understood: as a common conduit in which all information is treated equal, or as a place where different types of information and applications are treated differently by the companies that control access to the internet.

What is net neutrality?
Net neutrality or network neutrality is a founding principle of the internet. With a few small exceptions, it is the standard that has governed the transit of information over the internet up to this point. Put simply, net neutrality means non-discriminatory treatment of traffic. That is, outside of limited exceptions such as spam and known viruses, the companies that deliver information over the internet have treated all information the same, delivering each package of information as quickly and efficiently as possible (often referred to as the “best efforts” internet). Under this regime an internet user is free to use any equipment, content, application or service on a non-discriminatory basis without interference from the network provider. Network neutrality means that the network provider’s only job is to move data – not to choose which data to privilege with higher quality service.

Why is net neutrality important?
Network neutrality has been a success for the internet and for Canada. It drives economic innovation, democratic participation, and free speech online. Many of today’s most successful applications were able to develop because the practice of network neutrality treated their traffic equally to that of the already existing (and dominant) players. Without some basic protection for net neutrality, a duopoly of phone and cable companies will be in a position to control the information that travels over Canada’s internet, possibly cutting restrictive deals with the highest bidding companies and shunting aside innovators, small businesses and entrepreneurs. The fear is that the network operators will be able to choose winners and losers. In a neutral network, it is the users who have the power to choose which applications will be successful.

Is net neutrality a new idea?
No. In fact, if you have ever plugged in a toaster or used a telephone, you are already familiar with the concept of network neutrality: companies that carry the signals over the network do so in a non-discriminatory way; no one customer is favoured over another. Electricity, railways, public roads and the telephone are all examples of highly successful neutral networks. Net neutrality is the latest instance of the basic legal and engineering principle known as “common carriage”, which is over 125 years old and which has been a cornerstone of Canada’s telecommunications infrastructure.

What is the problem?
The problem is that Canada’s telecommunications laws, while prohibiting “unjust discrimination” and interference with content by telecom carriers, does not adequately protect network neutrality on the internet. The existing laws may not prevent big ISPs, for example, from offering new tiered services to content providers, and thereby turning the internet into a two-tiered network on which some content (guess whose?) is prioritized over other content. In the end, those with deep pockets will end up in the “fast lane”, while all other internet content providers will be relegated to a much slower lane.

Another problem is ISP “traffic-shaping”: a practice by which ISPs slow down P2P traffic in order to make space for other traffic on an ostensibly congested network. Many people consider such discriminatory treatment of certain kinds of internet traffic to be “unjust discrimination” under the Telecommunications Act and a violation of the principle of network neutrality, but big ISPs defend the practice as just and legal.

Who wants to get rid of net neutrality?
A number of large phone and cable companies have expressed the opinion that, in an age of growing bandwidth use, network neutrality is neither feasible nor desirable. These companies, because they eventually carry almost all the traffic of Canadian internet users, are in a position to play gatekeeper, deciding which web sites load fast or slow, and which won't load at all. They have expressed interest in charging content providers to guarantee speedy delivery of their data. They also have the ability to discriminate in favour of their own search engines, internet phone services, and video streaming services – while slowing down or blocking their competitors.

These companies have a new vision for the internet. Instead of a level playing field, they want to reserve express lanes for their own content and services – for those from big corporations that can afford the steep tolls – and leave the rest of us on the slow lane. The big phone and cable companies are lobbying Ottawa and the CRTC to refrain from applying network neutrality principles to the internet, as this would close-off what they see as an opportunity to gain huge revenues from their ownership of the internet’s physical architecture (note that this ownership, in the telephone sector, is in large part due to the fact that for much of their existence these companies have been government funded and protected monopolies).

Who stands to lose if Canada loses net neutrality?
The big losers will be small and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs, start-ups, independent media, and content producers. These groups, the very people who have made the internet the success it is today, will find themselves at a huge disadvantage vis-à-vis those companies who have the financial resources to purchase faster access to internet users. Without net neutrality, Canada’s phone and cable duopoly will be in the position to leverage their control over the internet’s physical channels to reap large profits from those able to pay, while labour groups, public interest groups, NGOs, small business, new media businesses, and everyday citizens will have limited access to the wider world. The fear is that in this environment small businesses and start-ups will be unable to compete, and innovation and cultural production will once again be controlled by the large corporate and governmental bodies. Ironically, this is exactly the type of society from which the internet has the potential to free us.

Do you want the Canadian government to regulate the internet?
Not necessarily. Just as companies should not be in a position to decide what content is of ‘value’ on the internet, neither should the government. We do, however, want them to safeguard a principle that has been part of the internet from day one. The common carrier provisions, prohibiting telecom carriers from interfering with the content they carry, have been in place for over a century and offer a good place to start.

What’s happening in the U.S.?
Threats to net neutrality were first raised in the U.S., and the debate over it is most advanced there. Washington is now responding. Bills have been introduced in the House and Senate, and presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have come out publicly in support of net neutrality. In contrast, there has been little debate about the issue in Canada.

What do we need in Canada to protect Net Neutrality?
First of all, Canada’s government should acknowledge that the internet is more than just a technology or commodity – it has become a vital piece of Canada’s social and economic infrastructure. Canada needs a plan and principles for this infrastructure, the same way we did with electricity, railways and the telephone. That plan should be about facilitating competition in internet content and applications, keeping barriers to entry low, and promoting innovation and free speech. The government’s current hands-off and “market based” approach fails to value these essential considerations. It is up to us to demand that the Canadian government start looking at the internet as more than just a valuable business proposition.

We need to ensure that the laws and regulations governing telecommunications in Canada adequately protect Net Neutrality and stop ISPs from abusing their gatekeeper powers.

What is SaveOurNet.ca?
A coalition of citizens, businesses and public interest groups want Ottawa to stop the Telcos from violating the principle of an open, neutral internet.

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