EU "Open Internet" Public Consultation - Neutrality Needed - but Works Fine Today, without Regulation

    

The EU published a report summarizing the results of its "the public consultation on the open internet and net neutrality in Europe" (here). The project started several months ago (see "EU Commission Launches Consultation on Net Neutrality" - here) and "attracted 318 responses from a wide range of stakeholders, including operators, internet content providers, Member States, consumer and civil society organisations as well as a number of individuals (!) ". Responses are available here (including the following vendors - Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Huawei, NSN, Qualcomm, Sandvine and Amdocs).  

The document provides an overview of the responses, including the following:

• There appears to be consensus among network operators, internet service providers (ISPs) and infrastructure manufacturers that there are currently no problems with the openness of the internet and net neutrality in the EU. In their view, traffic management exists to support the efficient operation of today's internet and does not have a negative impact on the consumer .. They maintain that there is no evidence that operators are engaging in unfair discrimination in a way that harms consumers or competition.
   
• There is consensus among respondents, even those that had previously alluded to blocking of P2P or VoIP services, that traffic management is a necessary and essential part of the operation of an efficient internet
   
• Respondents are also generally agreed on the need for transparency in relation to traffic management
   
• Respondents consider that the same traffic management principles should apply to both fixed and mobile networks and that the EU framework should remain technology-neutral. However, many stakeholders across the board suggest that in practice there may be differences in how those principles are applied in order to reflect the diverse characteristics of the two types of network, in particular the inherent capacity constraints of mobile networks.
   
• Respondents cite a number of other forms of prioritisation, with several referring to Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), which help content providers deliver a higher access speed and quality of service to their consumers. On a technical level, CDNs can help to alleviate traffic load on the network. According to BEREC, CDNs in themselves do not raise net neutrality issues, but any future discriminatory treatment in their favour might well do so.