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Bell throttles VPN connections

49K views 39 replies 18 participants last post by  bell frustrates 
#1 ·
Bell throttles VPN connections

I just got the new Fibe 25 service and have discovered that if you use a VPN to connect to your business VPN Bell will detect the use of a VPN and cap your 25 Mbit Fibe 25 connection to only 4 Mbit when using the VPN.

So I had our business IT tech drop by my home and run a bunch of tests over the new Fibe 25. We confirmed that indeed Bell was capping the speed when a VPN was being used. He also tried SSH tunnelling and that too was hindered by Bell’s actions

So I called Bell and asked about it.. the tech I spoke to first denied that Bell was doing anything. I then told him we’re IT professionals and we can clearly see you’re capping the speed. He then put me on hold for 10 minutes to talk with his supervisor.. he then came back on the phone to tell me “I have some bad news for you…. Yes we do cap VPN speeds” I asked why and he had no answer… only answer was to give me a phone number of the head office to complain.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Bell "technically" complies with undertakings to CRTC

Well....

I subscribe to a VPN service based on OpenVPN. I have a router configured as a VPN point of presence that gets 2 Meg at best. Switching from that to the main gateway router gets me 15 Meg.

To eliminate router configuration as the issue, I set up the OpenVPN client software to run from one of my laptops using the gateway router -- same thing.

Tried OpenVPN over SSH. No difference.

Had a service tech in -- no line problems.

Thing is, I did at one time get full speed VPN. This started mid April when congestion issues in my region were suddenly resolved. Before that every evening, I and others saw their speeds dropping dramatically every evening during peak hours. Coincidence, I think not. VPN connections are likely to be high bandwidth if people are using it to stream geoblocked video and such.

This violates principles of net neutrality and is a wrongful anti-competitive action. Bell is effectively signalling -- "buy Bell VPN if you want the bandwidth you are paying for."

Since they throttle at the infrastructure layer, I can't just change service providers. I am not even a Bell client -- but their infrastructure vandalism affects me anyway. In December 2012, Bell promised the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission that they would stop shaping P2P traffic.

I have run Glastnost tests on bitorrent and can confirm that there is no discriminatory handling of that protocol now -- but I get 15 Meg everything (including bitorrent) without VPN and 2 Meg with VPN.
 
#33 ·
I am considering a complaint to the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission and would like to have others sign on. I am waiting for advice from the The Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) (twitter @cippic) at the University of Ottawa.

Do you work for Bell? "nothing to see here" move along seems to be the corporate line.
 
#35 ·
The message I sent to my ISP in order to try to confirm if Bell does cap VPN speeds follows:

If Bell is applying Internet Traffic Management Policies (ITMPs) they are to follow CRTC Guidance (see: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2009/2009-657.htm)

This includes in the case where they throttle VPN generally for both their own retail customers and for wholesale customers like NCF that they need to give NCF prior notice and in any case inform you of the :

"91. For technical ITMPs applied to wholesale services that do not require prior Commission approval, the Commission considers that a description of the ITMPs in the tariffs of primary ISPs is the best means of providing information to secondary ISPs. Accordingly, primary ISPs are required, as a condition of providing service, to issue updated tariff pages describing such ITMPs. Primary ISPs are to issue revised tariff pages, sending copies to their wholesale customers, a minimum of 60 days prior to implementing the ITMP or implementing changes to the ITMP. "

Can you confirm whether the tarrif for wholesale Fibre services includes notification of VPN speed traffic management?
 
#37 ·
The traffic management could be applied regionally. I know that there have been Fibre capacity issues in eastern Ontario with a rapid roll-out of Fibre. Maybe intended to be temporary. Could also be a configuration issue on Bell's end, but I have no trust in their business practices so do not give the benefit of the doubt.
 
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