Netherlands first European nation to adopt net neutrality

The Dutch Parliament yesterday agreed to make the Netherlands the first nation in Europe to officially put net neutrality principles into law. The law will force ISPs and telecom operators to ensure access to all types of content, services or applications available on the network.

The new telecom law has won a nearly unanimous vote

The new telecom law has won a nearly unanimous vote, in spite of fierce opposition from telecom operators, who had been planning to charge for over-the-top services, just as Skype or WhatsApp Messenger, which bypass traditional cellular communications. Vodafone Netherlands is currently for all that blocking the use of Skype on its 3G mobile network.

KPN recently reported that its youth-oriented brand, Hi, saw an 8 per cent decline in text messages per customer in the first three months of this year. The uptake of the WhatsApp messaging app grew from 0 per cent of Hi's Android phone users in August 2010 to 85 per cent in April 2011. KPN proposed new pricing models, nevertheless said it would not block VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services.

The final vote on the new telecommunications act in the Dutch House of Representatives will take place straightway Tuesday, however is considered a formality.

This IDG Technology Services results looks at how CIOs and IT leaders recognize the business impact of application performance.