When news started to break that online streaming video service Netflix was coming to Canada, telecom giant Rogers downgraded the available download rates. Now it seems they are back at it again, this time effecting online games, as the Canadian Gamers Organization issued a complaint to the CRTC recently. They claimed back in March of this year that Rogers was throttling internet speeds for World of Warcraft players, a peer-to-peer online game. Rogers initially responded back saying it was a mistake, and tried to blame “traffic management equipment,” but the timing is just to suspicious to be a mistake.
The CRTC has since stepped in and told Rogers they have until the end of the month to put a proper plan in place for the increased network traffic, including specific steps and time lines.
“The Canadian Gamers Organization is pleased that the CRTC is now taking steps to actively address this issue with Rogers, however we suspect that other ISPs who use ITMP have the same issues.
“We are currently getting reports from our members that Shaw customers are also affected by misclassification. The CRTC has also been aware for quite some time that Bell Sympatico members have also experienced similar problems,” said Jason Koblovsky, The Canadian Gamers Organization
I’ve often felt that this will be the challenge of online gaming and video services, as they are reliant upon the “pipe” or Internet to deliver their offering, as telcos own the pipe. Hopefully the CRTC will ensure a win-win resolution.