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Ottawa, 4 December 2008

 

File No. 8646-C12-200815400

 

By email

 

To.   Distribution List (attached)

 

Re: Telecom Public Notice CRTC 2008-19 - Review of the Internet traffic management practices of Internet service providers

 

Pursuant to the procedures specified at paragraph 17 of Telecom Public Notice CRTC 2008-19 - Review of the Internet traffic management practices of Internet service providers, 10 June 2008, attached are the interrogatories associated with this proceeding.

 

Parties are requested to file their responses with the Commission, serving a copy on all other parties, by 13 January 2009.   These responses are to be received, and not merely sent, by this date.   In providing responses, parties are requested to take into consideration all of the company's relevant operations which provide broadband Internet services, including wire line, wireless, and /or satellite networks .

 

Parties may contact Stephan Meyer (stephan.meyer@crtc.gc.ca) at 819-997-4494 should they have any questions in regard to this process.

 

Attachment 1 contains the distribution list for the interrogatories.
Attachment 2 contains the interrogatories.

 

Yours sincerely,

Original signed by

 

Chris Seidl
Director,
Convergence Policy

 

c.c.: Stephan Meyer, CRTC 819­997­4494

 

Attach:   Attachment 1 and 2

 

Attachment 1

 

DISTRIBUTION LIST

 

Barrett Xplore Inc.
Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership
Bell Canada
Bragg Communications Incorporated (EastLink)
Cogeco Cable Canada Inc.
MTS Allstream Inc.
Primus Telecommunications Canada Inc.
Rogers Cable Communications Inc.
SaskTel
Shaw Telecom Inc.
TELUS Communications Company
Vidéotron Ltd.

 

Attachment 2

 

INTERROGATORIES

 

Questions for Barrett Xplore, Bell Aliant Communications régionales, Société en commandite, Bell Canada, Bragg Communications Incorporated, Cogeco Cable Canada Inc., MTS Allstream Inc., Primus Telecommunications Canada, Rogers Cable Communications Inc., Saskatechewan Telecommunications, Shaw Communications Inc., Société TELUS Communications and Vidéotron ltée.

 

Network Traffic Characteristics

1.   With respect to the networks [1] your company uses to provide broadband Internet services [2] :

a)   Describe in detail how traffic volume on these networks has changed from 2006 to 2008. Provide specific traffic data by month for each year.

b)   For the traffic on these networks, provide the percent composition of various types of Internet traffic (e.g. HTTP, P2P, UDP, etc.) for each year from 2006 to 2008 by month.

c)   What is your definition of peak period(s) on these networks? Has this peak period changed in the years from 2006 to 2008? If so, describe this change.

d)   Provide a forecast indicating how you expect the traffic volumes on your networks to change in the years from 2009 to 2011. You answer should include a discussion as to why these changes are forecasted.

2.    With respect to the Internet traffic currently consumed by end-users of your broadband Internet service(s):

a)   What is the monthly average usage per end-user in Gigabytes (Gb) by month for each year from 2006 to 2008? Provide a breakdown of the upstream and downstream traffic usage separately.

b)   What is the monthly average usage for the top i) 5% and ii) 10% of end-users consuming the greatest amount of Internet traffic on your networks in Gb by month for each year from 2006 to 2008? Provide a breakdown of the upstream and downstream traffic usage separately.

c)   What proportion of the total traffic on your networks do each of the two end-user categories identified in (b) above represent?

d)   What applications do each of the two end-user categories identified in (b) above utilize that contribute most to their usage?   For these applications, specify the percent composition of the total usage for each of the two end-user categories in (b).

e)   Provide a forecast indicating how you expect the monthly average usage per end-user (in Gb) to change in the years from 2009 to 2011.

Network Congestion and Provisioning Practices

3.   How do you define congestion in the networks your company uses to provide broadband Internet services?   What criteria and measurements are used to determine that there is congestion in your networks? If you provide both retail and wholesale services, provide any differences in how you define congestion for each.

4.    Have your congestion criteria changed between 2006 and 2008 ? If so, explain how they have changed.

5.    Describe which components (e.g. network elements or links) of your networks, used to provide broadband Internet services, are provisioned based on Internet traffic volumes. The discussion should include a general description of the architecture of your networks.

6.    For each component identified in (5), describe the practices that you employ to provision your networks. Your answer should include a description of the conditions under which your company would augment its network capacities to address congestion. Describe in detail the process used to identify when and where additional network capacity is required and how the additional capacity requirements are determined.

7.    Describe any major changes to your provisioning practices for the years 2006 to 2008. The response should include details on any changes in provisioning assumptions.

Technology-related Internet Traffic Management Practices

8.   If you utilize Internet traffic management technologies, such as deep packet inspection:

a)    Identify the technologies that you use. Your answer should include the specific equipment that you are using by vendor and product name.

b)    Explain why you chose to employ these Internet traffic management technologies. The response should address what conditions led you to implement these technologies and why you could not rely on non-technological solutions (e.g. provisioning practices).

c)    Describe in detail how the implemented technologies carry out traffic management. The response should include:

i. whether management is carried out at specific times of the day. If so, specify the times of day.

ii. whether management is carried out on specific end-users. If so, specify how you determine which end-users are included and why.

iii. whether management is carried out only under certain network conditions (e.g. congested states). If so, specify what those conditions are.

iv. whether management is carried out only on certain applications. If so, specify which applications are included, as well as why these applications have been chosen.

v. whether the technology processes packet information. If so, specify what information is inspected (such as the header or payload).

vi. whether any information is stored and retained. If so, specify for how long and for what purpose it is retained.

d)    Provide details on the effects that your Internet traffic management technologies have on end-user Internet bandwidth (e.g. provide specific changes in upload and download speed in kbps).

e)    Has there been a change in average end-user monthly usage since implementing Internet traffic management technologies ? If so, by what amount did the average upstream and downstream usage change (in Gb per month)?

f)    Are your Internet traffic management technologies used on both wholesale and retail customers? If yes, are there any differences in how the traffic of these customers is managed?

g)    Can the Internet traffic management technologies that you employ be applied:

• i. to specific end-users?

• ii. at specific times of day?

• iii. in response to specific network conditions (e.g. congested states)?

• iv. to specific locations in your networks?

• v. to specific applications?

If so, explain how this could be done in each case.

Alternative Internet Traffic Management Practices

9.    If you utilize Internet traffic management practices as alternatives or in addition to the technology-based practices identified in Question 8 above, such as monthly bandwidth capacity limits, excess bandwidth usage charges, network upgrades, time of day pricing, content caching etc.:

a)    Identify the practices that you use.

b)    For each practice that you use, explain why you chose to use it. The response should address what conditions led you to implement this practice and why you could not rely on existing provisioning practices.

c)    Describe in detail how the implemented practices assist in traffic management. The response should include a discussion on how they are used, when they are used, and where they are used.

d)    Provide details on the effects that these Internet traffic management practices have on end-user Internet bandwidth (e.g. provide specific changes in upload and download speed in kbps).

e)    Has there been a change in average end-user monthly usage since implementing Internet traffic management practices ? If so, by what amount did the average upstream and downstream usage change (in Gb per month)?

f)    Are these traffic management practices used on both wholesale and retail customers? If yes, are there any differences in how the traffic of these customers is managed?

General Traffic Management Practices

10.    With reference to Internet traffic management practices discussed in Questions 8 and 9, does your company plan to implement new capabilities for these practices? Your response should include details about the availability of any upgrades to the capabilities of the technologies being employed as well as the rationale for introducing new capabilities.

11.    If your company does not currently utilize Internet traffic management practices, explain fully why you have chosen to not employ any Internet traffic management practices (both technology-related or alternative).

12.    If your company does not currently utilize Internet traffic management practices, are there conditions under which you would introduce such practices? If yes, describe these circumstances and explain why you would use Internet traffic management practices.

13.    Are there Internet traffic management practices that you are planning to employ that are not discussed in Questions 8 and 9? If so, describe these potential solutions. Your answer should include a discussion of any work your company has undertaken or is currently undertaking with equipment or software vendors and service providers to develop new solutions.Your answer should also identify the timeframes planned for implementing these solutions.

14.    Besides managing traffic congestion, what other reasons could lead to, or have lead to, the utilization of Internet traffic management practices on your networks (such as to facilitate billing, spam control, or legal requirements)?

Customer Notification

15.    If Internet traffic management practices are in place for your customers, do you advise them of these practices? If so, what information is provided, when is it provided, and how is it communicated? If you provide both retail and wholesale Internet services, your answer should clearly indicate any differences in your notification practices between wholesale and retail customers.

[1] If your company operates more than one network (such as a wireless network and a fixed network), questions are to be answered for each network used to deliver broadband Internet services.

[2] For the purposes of this proceeding, the Commission is considering the term 'broadband Internet services' to refer to any Internet access services not offered over a dial-up connection.

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