EU set to unveil neutral net neutrality plans

The European Commission will unveil proposals to foster a neutral and competitive Internet on Tuesday, drawing praise from big industry for its cautiousness during consumer groups and activists lament its lack of substance.

Tim Berners Lee, often dubbed 'the father of the Web', ranks among the high-profile personalities to have openly lobbied for regulation to mandate the neutrality of the Internet. But, others have argued that regulation is unnecessary and would threaten research.

At the heart of the issue is whether access to Internet services or content should be controlled and filtered in other words than left free and provided according to the principle of 'best effort'.

The Net for economic reasons

This principle implies that no provider can prioritise traffic on the Net for economic reasons. Instead, every user should be served with the providers' 'best effort'. This criterion has seen derogations in order to allow more professional use of the Internet. In fixed and final form, a business user willing to pay more gets a faster and better connection.

However, extending this concept to many more users would run the risk of the majority getting such a poor service that it will prevent them from using the Internet. The borders between the two needs are currently being defined, and are subject to technological and regulatory developments.

Draft proposal seen

In a draft proposal seen by EurActiv, the European Commission does its homework on possible infringements of net neutrality however prefers to adopt a wait-and-see approach earlier coming up with concrete measures to prevent network operators and Internet providers from forging monopolies.

The term 'net neutrality' was coined by Columbia University law professor Tim Wu, who has written widely on the rise of Internet monopolies just as Google and Facebook. Ironically, without a neutral net, which allows consumers to get the services they need when they need them, the Facebooks of tomorrow will not be able to build up the same critical mass and reputation.

The EU paper admits that problems have been detected just as blocking of Internet telephony and anticompetitive traffic management, nevertheless also claims these have so far been dealt with by a national regulator or negative media coverage.

The Commission reveal that the pressure applied

Sources close to the Commission reveal that the pressure applied by large telecoms lobbies was too great to adopt a tougher stance on partisanship in the Internet.

"In highly competitive markets for fixed and mobile broadband, any furthermore, pre-emptive regulation that would restrict traffic management and service differentiation would undermine Europe's digital economy by excluding new business models, locking in today's technologies, and hampering necessary technology," reads a statement from the European Telecommunications and Network Operators association.

The industry'

In glaring contrast to the industry's claims, Internet activists La Quadrature du Net argue that monopolies are thriving and that the situation in the EU is already out of control.

According to Jérémie Zimmermann, the founder of the Internet advocacy group, Bouygues, SFR and Orange - the three largest telcoms firms in France - are already infringing net neutrality by banning VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), peer-to-peer file sharing and discussion forum newsgroups on their mobile connections.

Heated debate on the matter

France is currently engaged in a heated debate on the matter and its parliament last week issued an 80-page paper on how to tackle the problem. Zimmerman points to the irony that France, a country with a reputation for hardline Internet policies, is judging by appearances doing more than the European Commission.

Internet speed limits were applied by unnamed operators in France, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, and the United Kingdom, according to recent findings from the Body of European regulators of Electronic Communications.

Operators in Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Romania were found out for blocking or slapping on extra charges for VOIP on mobile networks.

"The European Union has missed the possibility to safeguard net neutrality as a fundamental regulatory principle while the revision of telecom rules in 2009. By allowing in the Telecoms Package the opportunity for network providers to engage in traffic management as a default rule, the EU has opened the door to potentially unfair and discriminatory traffic control on the Internet," argued Kostas Rossoglou, a legal officer at EU consumer group BEUC.

"Though traffic management may be necessary in specific cases, just as control of traffic in extraordinary cases of temporary network congestion or for reasons related to the security of the network, Internet Service Providers should bear the burden of proof that there is conclusive evidence of congestion or that this is an imperative necessity for the functioning of the network," Rossoglou continued.

"Consumers in Europe benefit from a highly competitive market place for broadband Internet access, choosing from a range of providers and options to access and use the Internet. Competition is driving users' ability to access to content, applications and services they require, be it on fixed or mobile networks," according to a statement from ETNO, a lobby group which represents the telecoms industry.