Laws. Regulations. Tariffs. Politics.

I have not read in detail the CRTC ruling on Bell Canada DSL throttling though I intend to do so. It is already evident there is a lot of discontent out there as can be seen in the comments on this CBC article and this one in DSL Reports.

Here is a prime example of why it is important to dig into the specifics rather than responding on the basis of emotion. It doesn't matter how we feel about the ruling. What matters are the reasons given by the CRTC. Any cogent action that may follow will have to address specific points made by the CRTC. Rants achieve nothing except, perhaps, the ranter may derive some enjoyment from doing the ranting, and getting affirmative feedback from other ranters.

Whether or not the ruling is well-founded in law, regulations and tariffs, there is the political climate to be considered since the CRTC would certainly be sensitive to that. Even among the ranters there is a sad recognition that those most unhappy with the ruling are in the minority among the general population. That is not helpful if politics is at play; in politics numbers matter. It would be easy to speculate that the political winds would blow in favour of large corporations since they are large employers and taxpayers. This is particularly pertinent in a recession. If assessed on politics alone, had the CRTC ruled against Bell Canada I believe their public relations machine would have been given free rein to turn public opinion against the government on this issue. I also believe it would succeed since the majority don't understand the issue and can be swayed to accept an implication that the vocal minority are mostly illegal file sharers. Politics can be vicious. It can also operate effectively without regard to the facts, whatever those facts may be.

Now to find an hour or two to read through those documents and see what's what.