The European Parliament (EP) has adopted a significantly stronger resolution on the defence of Net Neutrality (the principal of treating all internet traffic as equal). The new position calls upon the European Commission (EC) to take a tougher line than its current position (detailed here) of merely sitting back and asking broadband ISPs to be more "transparent" with their Traffic Management policies.

Instead the EP has called for EU telecoms rules to be properly "enforced" in order to help keep the internet "open and neutral". In particular they have adopted the Committee for Industry, Transport, Research and Energy (ITRE) recommendation, which calls for ISP Traffic Management practices to be "monitored" in order to ensure that "end users do not lose their connections whenever networks are congested" (ITRE report summary).

The EP wants to see a new set of EU-wide guidelines that would ensure adherence to EU telecoms rules on net neutrality. Furthermore a forthcoming report from the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) is expected to reveal whether or not any operators have abused their positions; the EP wants the EC to assess this and publish its conclusions within 6 months.

It's worth pointing out that BEREC recently released its own set of DRAFT guidelines, which called upon broadband ISPs to be clear with consumers about any internet access restrictions that could threaten Net Neutrality (here).



At present both the EC and UK government have adopted an almost identical "wait and see" style approach (here), which references a lack of evidence to support the need for new regulation. Opponents frequently claim that some ISPs and mobile operators already block specific services (e.g. Skype, MSN, P2P, Video Streaming etc.). A few providers have also been known to restrict speeds to such an extent as to make certain legal services practically unusable.

However the biggest potential for harm, which could occur if providers started favouring content sources based on who pays them the most money, has yet to become a major issue. In the UK market there also remains plenty of choice and competition, which means that many of the above concerns haven't impacted the wider industry.

A related difficulty often surfaces when ISPs attempt to launch their own broadband TV ( IPTV ) services, which require flexibility to develop new content models. Strict Net Neutrality would hinder this. Suffice to say that developing a common policy, without preventing the development of new services, is a minefield. Many ISPs would also be quick to point out that almost all internet traffic is managed in some way, thus pure Net Neutrality might not be realistic.

EU ministers plan to adopt conclusions on the open internet and Net Neutrality in Europe at the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (TTEC) on 13th December 2011.