Monday, December 8, 2014

Germany: Chancellor Merkel Supports Fast Lanes for "New Uses" of the Internet


In the series "World leaders views on Net Neutrality", the next episode comes from Germany's Chancellor, Ms. Angela Merkel,

[See President Obama's position - "What's Next for Net Neutrality?" - here]

Adam Westlake reports to Slashgear that "German leader Angela Merkel made comments earlier in the week on the topic of net neutrality .. Merkel's position is in favor of a two-tier internet, where the "fast lane" will be for priority speeds, as long as ISPs have been paid their additional fees, while the other lane is supposed to act as the internet we know today. She feels that the future development of new uses for the internet is actually dependent on a two-tier format, as opposed to net neutrality proponents who feel a single, equal net is needed for growth.

.. new advancements like driverless vehicles or telemedicine wouldn't be able to function properly without priority treatment, regardless if ISPs need to charge more for their higher speeds". 

Ms. Merkel spoke at the "digitising Europe" conference, hosted by Vodafone. See the full speech (in German) - "Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Merkel zum Digitising Europe Summit am 4. Dezember 2014" - here.
 
See "German Chancellor voices support for fast lane internet, opposing net neutrality" - here.

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