Bell's broadband results not as positive as initially reported

December 19, 2016 – Ottawa-Gatineau – Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today is issuing a revised version of the broadband measurement report to clarify the individual performance results of certain Bell Canada Internet services.

In September 2016, the CRTC published the first-ever national, independent study measuring the broadband speeds that Canadians were experiencing compared to the speeds advertised by service providers. 

The data published in September showed that Internet service providers (ISPs) largely met or exceeded their advertised download and upload speeds and this conclusion is still valid.

Following the publication of the final report in September, it came to the attention of SamKnows, the company commissioned by the CRTC to conduct this study, that the wrong metrics were used to analyze the upload speeds of Bell Canada’s DSL Internet services. 

Therefore the Commission would like to inform Canadians that Bell’s broadband results were not as positive as initially reported.

The revised results are available in the final report for the first phase of the study.  

Quick Facts

• Participation by ISPs in the study was voluntary; ISPs included all the main wireline service providers in Canada, with the exception of Sasktel, which declined to participate.
• SamKnows was responsible for compiling and tabulating the data collected from participating ISPs between March 15, 2016 and April 14, 2016.
• The broadband measurement study is intended to provide Canadians with an opportunity to compare the performance of participating ISPs against their respective advertised speeds so they may make informed decision about their Internet service needs.
• The sample plan (speed tiers to be measured and reported) was shared with all participants, but the error was only recently discovered.
• The measurement devices, known as Whiteboxes, collected data from over 3,000 volunteers as part of this initiative, and no information about the participants’ online activities was collected to protect their privacy.
• Speeds measured correspond to those delivered to the home by the providers, and not inside the home – factors inside the home, such as a large number of devices in use at the same time, faulty equipment and poor Wi-Fi connectivity could impact user performance
• Other factors outside the home that could influence performance include: heavy traffic on a particular site, latency and packet loss.
• As indicated in the CRTC 2016-2019 Three-Year Plan, the Measuring Broadband Canada project will continue to collect measurements on the performance of Canadian Internet connections and hopes to include more ISP participants.
• Canadians interested in participating in the next phase of the project are encouraged to submit a request at Measuring Broadband Canada.

Related products

• September 2016 News Release
• Broadband Measurement Report
• Broadband Measurement Project
• How Does Your Internet Service Measure Up
• November 2015 News Release
• May 2015 News Release

- 30 -

Contacts

Media Relations
(819) 997-9403

General Inquiries
(819) 997-0313
Toll-free: 1 (877) 249-CRTC (2782)
TTY: (819) 994-0423
Ask a question or make a complaint

Stay Connected
Follow us on Twitter @CRTCeng
Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/crtceng