A few weeks ago, Bell Canada thought it would be a good idea to degrade the quality of the bandwidth they sold wholesalers by throttling it before it reached competitor networks. They also thought it would be a good idea initially not to tell any of those competitors and customers they'd be doing this. The result has been a several-week debate over the anticompetitive practice, which essentially prevents competitors from offering a superior product to Bell's throttled Sympatico service.

This week that debate heads to Canada's telecommunications watchdog the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which has been bombarded by user complaints, many of which originated in our forums. According to the Ottawa Citizen, the CRTC will begin deliberations tomorrow to determine if Bell's "bandwidth throttling" should stop immediately until government policy is set.

Meanwhile, Teksavvy CEO Rocky Gaudrault has posted to our forums in the hopes of organizing a rally against Bell Canada's tactics and in favor of network neutrality. As it stands, they're looking to organize a peaceful protest on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 29, from 1PM to 6PM. Keep an eye on the above-linked thread if you'd like to participate.