The CRTC has sided with Bell Canada in the controversial Internet “throttling” case, ruling that the telecommunications giant is within its right to regulate the flow of traffic on its network space.

But the federal regulator did give independent Internet service companies a concession by announcing new hearings on the issue of Internet traffic shaping, as well as requiring Bell to give users 30 days notice before making usage changes.

“(The complainant) asked us to only consider the specific issue of wholesale traffic shaping within a specific context,’’ said Konrad von Finckenstein, chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. “The broader issue of Internet traffic management raises a number of questions that affect both end-users and service providers.’’

Von Finckenstein said the regulator will hold public hearings on the issue of Internet traffic shaping next July 6.

In the complaint filed in April, the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP) said Bell’s attempts to regulate who has access to the Internet at peak hours was an attempt to stifle competition and made it virtually impossible for its members to properly manage the services they provide.

Bell argued the action was necessary because a relatively small number of users employing so-called peer-to-peer downloading were hogging more than 50% of the network’s capacity, slowing down service for its regular customers.

Internet giant Google sided with CAIP, saying the Internet must remain open and accessible and blamed Bell for failing to expand its network to accommodate all users.

But the CRTC said Bell had demonstrated that the growing popularity of online video can lead to congestion on the network. And it said Bell was not favouring its own retail customers over the independent users.

“Based on the evidence before us, we found that the measures employed by Bell Canada to manage its network were not discriminatory,’’ von Finckenstein said. “Bell Canada applied the same traffic-shaping practices to wholesale customers as it did to its own retail customers.’’

But he made clear the issue has not been totally resolved.

The CRTC has asked for submissions to examine how changes in bandwidth consumption led to network congestion and the type of technical and business practices—such as billing policies—available to providers in managing usage on their networks.

The regulator said it will try to establish “the criteria to be used in the event that specific traffic management practices need to be authorized.’’

Although the complaint was brought specifically against Bell, other telecom companies, including Rogers Communications have also taken steps to control the flow of traffic during peak usage periods.