Articles for Category Tag - Net Neutrality

The European Commission’s recent promise to “guarantee” Net Neutrality by ensuring that broadband ISPs and mobile operators give citizens access to the full and open internet, “without any blocking or throttling of competing services” (here), has been called into question after a draft of the new regulation was leaked.

The Vice-President of the European Commission (EC) responsible for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, has proposed a new EU “safeguard” to ensure that broadband ISPs and mobile operators give every citizen a “guarantee of access to the full and open internet, without any blocking or throttling of competing services“.

Proposals for a controversial change to the current International Telecommunications Regulations (ITR), which some country’s fear could have potentially opened the door to a new Net Neutrality busting internet tax or wider online censorship, has been fragmented after the UK, USA and Canada refused to sign the new treaty.

The communications regulator has published its annual 2012 Infrastructure Report, which claims that “close to” 100% of premises in the United Kingdom can now receive a broadband service (71% take-up) and just 10% can only get sub-2Mbps speeds (down from 14% in 2011). Superfast broadband (25Mbps+) is also available to 65% of homes and businesses (7% take-up).

Consultancy firm Analysys Mason has warned that plans to adapt the telephone settlement system, which established how phone operators compensate each other for terminating international voice calls (i.e. settlement payments), to the internet through the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITR) could “halt growth and find users cut off“.

Yesterdays release of a new voluntary Open Internet Code of Practice (OICP), which is designed to tackle Net Neutrality concerns by requiring members to ensure the provision of full and open internet access, has today received a starkly mixed response from the UK’s fixed line broadband ISPs.

The Broadband Stakeholders Group (BSG), a UK government supported think-tank, has launched a new Voluntary Code of Practice to ensure “the provision of full and open internet access” and to prevent ISPs using Traffic Management practices to “degrade the services of a competitor“. But three of the country’s largest ISPs have refused to join.

The European Commission (EC), which recently announced tentative plans to allegedly support Net Neutrality (the principal of treating all internet traffic as equal) by imposing stiffer industry guidelines and delivering more “effective consumer choice“, has today launched a public consultation on the matter.

The Executive Director of broadband at cable operator Virgin Media, Jon James, has suggested that the chances of a Net Neutrality (the principal of treating all internet traffic as equal) battle between access and content providers happening in the UK will remain remote so long as “intense competition” exists between ISPs.

The European Telecommunications Network Operators Association (ETNO) has called for a controversial change to the International Telecommunications Regulations (ITR) that could make it easier for broadband ISPs to discriminate against internet content providers (e.g. Skype, Google, Netflix etc.), unless they pay for privileged access that is.

A new study by Rebtel, which claims to be the largest independent VoIP (Voice-over-IP) provider after Skype, has found that almost 60% of UK Smartphone users would be prepared to switch Mobile Broadband networks if operators continue to impose traffic blocks or slow down access to online voice calling and other internet streaming services.

The European Commission (EC) has responded to BEREC’s final report into Net Neutrality (the principal of treating all internet traffic as equal), which criticised fixed line broadband ISPs and Mobile Broadband operators over a lack of transparency, by proposing to stiffen industry guidelines through “strong and targeted action” and deliver more “effective consumer choice“.

The Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications (BEREC), which is composed of the heads from 27 national regulators (e.g. Ofcom in the UK), has published its preliminary findings on internet Traffic Management practices by broadband ISPs and mobile operators in Europe. The practices were found to “vary widely” between countries and providers with some exceptions, the blocking of VoIP (e.g. Skype) and P2P (BitTorrent – File Sharing) traffic is common.

Business ISP Entanet, a UK telecoms and internet supplier, has suggested that the national communications regulator (Ofcom) must “be prepared to step in” and force Mobile Network Operators (MNO) to stop their “anti-competitive practices” (e.g. blocking VoIP traffic) by protecting Net Neutrality (the principal of treating all internet traffic as equal).