Report Concludes: The "Open Internet" is Good for All

  

A new report from Plum Consulting on the "Open Internet" concludes:

"The open internet has and continues to generate substantial benefits. Yet the principles of the open internet face challenges with evidence of discrimination against internet-based applications in Europe particularly on mobile. We also conclude that the policy challenge of maintaining the open internet and promoting demand for advanced applications and networks is recognised, but has yet to be resolved .. The ‘net neutrality’ policy debate has been clouded by a number of misconceptions about the internet value chain, the incentives of the various players, and the costs involved. There can be no doubt that demand for internet content and applications is good, not bad. Demand incentivises investment in advanced network access, contributing to the realisation of EU Digital Agenda goals and the UK and other national Government’s broadband ambitions"

While the report promotes the "Open Internet" (access to all lawful data and applications), which is not surprising considering the clients who commissioned it (The BBC, Blinkbox, Channel 4, Skype and Yahoo!), "We do not include in our definition of the open internet a requirement that all data are necessarily given equal priority, an additional concept that is often included in definitions of “net neutrality”. There are circumstances in which traffic management for legal or technical reasons is beneficial, provided the approach is not discriminatory".
 

See "The open internet - a platform for growth" - here.