Cogeco ranks poorly in internet interference report

BY PETER NOWAK Cogeco Inc., Canada's sixth largest internet service provider,has ranked second worst in the world for traffic interference in a study by Vuze, an online video company.

Next to Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. ISP, Montreal-based Cogecohad the highestinternet reset connection ratein a study conducted by Vuze. Internet resets are a commonly used method of traffic shaping and interference with peer-to-peerapplications such as BitTorrent, Vuze said.

A reset occurs naturally when a communication link between computers cannot be made.

ISPs engaged in traffic shaping, however, have introduced "false resets" to purposely block or slow uses of peer-to-peer software, Vuze said.

Whilethe companysaid its study cannot distinguish between natural and false resets, ISPs ranking high on the list are likely using the technique to purposelyinterfere withpeer-to-peer traffic.

"We are not aware of any normal conditions that would cause the disproportionately large variances in reset activity shown in the data in the data sets of this size," the report said.

"We believe that in most cases there is sufficient data to at least raise questions about whether particular network operators are taking steps to artificially interrupt network connections."

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Vuze,which uses BitTorrent to legally distribute video and games, has written to Cogeco requesting that the company spell out how it manages its network.

"We would appreciate it if you could outline the specific network management practices your company uses, including, particularly, whether your network management practices include the use of false reset messages," Vuze wrote.

The company wrote similar letters to other companies that fared poorly in its study, including Comcast, Bellsouth/AT&T and Cablevision all U.S. ISPs.

Vuze began its study in January when it offeredtest users around the world a plug-in that measures resets fromindividual networks. The study was broadened to all Vuzesubscribers in March and has since logged more than a million hours of data from 8,000 users, the company said.

Comcast, which has admitted to blocking peer-to-peer traffic, had three of its networkstake thestudy's topthree spots with between 20 and 23 per cent of attempted connections being interrupted. Overall, Comcast networks across the United States made up six of the top 10 spots and 11 of the top 20.

The company recently said it will stop using resets asa means of blocking and slowing peer-to-peer traffic by the end of this year.

Cogeco, which has more than 456,000 internet customers,ranked fourth with a reset rate of 19 per cent. Twenty-two Cogeco customers took part in the study, logging more than 1,200 hours of data.

Marie Carrier, a spokesperson for Cogeco, saidthe company does not use false resets.Cogeco likely ranked poorly inVuze's study because of the small number of customers who took part.

"The sampling was not really representative. We don't do that type of intentional interruption," she said. "It's not conclusive."

Carrieradded that Cogeco has not yetreceived the letter from Vuze.

Bell Canada Inc., which has taken much of the heat for traffic-shaping in Canada, ranked 52nd overall for network resets. However, Cogeco, Rogers CommunicationsInc., TekSavvy Solutions Inc., and Telus Corp. allhad higher reset ratesthanBell.

Rogers has admitted it engages in traffic shaping while TekSavvy rents some of its service from Bell and is thus subject to the company's network-management policies.

Jim Johannsson, aspokesman for Telus, said the company does notengage in any traffic shaping. He added that he was not sure how Vuze could drawsuch conclusionsfrom its study.

"The internet is pretty big and problems can occur at numerous points that could affect the accuracy of their measurement," he said.

Other Canadian ISPs have notsaid whether they use false resets toslow down certain types ofinternet traffic.

Rounding out the Canadian ISPs in the study, Shaw Communications Inc. ranked 64th and Videotron Ltee placed 68th.

Vuze said that although false internet resets are one wayof interfering withinternet applications, theyare not the only method.

The companyin Novemberasked the U.S. regulator, the Federal Communications Commission, to enact regulations limiting the throttling of internet speeds. The FCC is currently holding hearings into whether it should increase its regulation of the internet.

Several groups, including the Canadian Associationof InternetProviders and the National Union of General and PublicEmployees,have called on the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to do the same. The CRTC is reviewing its position on internet regulation and is expected to make a report in May.

Internet experts said the Vuze study highlights the need for the CRTC and the Canadian government to get involved in regulating internet rights.

"What they're putting on the table is the need forbetter transparency," said University of Ottawa internet law professor Michael Geist. "When you see another major Canadian ISP caught up in these sorts of issues, it highlights the need for the regulator to become more actively involved."