#AskAnsip - so I did, and he gave an unambiguous answer

@christmarsden Specialized services enable innovation & quality.They must not impact availability & quality of open internet 4 all #AskAnsip

— Andrus Ansip (@Ansip_EU) February 23, 2015

Guest blog: the real threat to the open internet is zero-rated content 2

Guest blog: the real threat to the open internet is zero-rated content (continued) – World Wide Web Foundation: "According to Digital Fuel Monitor, while there are 92 zero-rating reported discriminations in OECD, we did not find a single case of ‘fast lanes’ discrimination. Why did the FCC propose to ban a discriminatory practice like ‘fast lanes’ with no real market examples while it ignored the most common discrimination form which is also present in the US? Note that President Obama, in his intervention, asked for an explicit ban “on paid prioritization and any other restriction that has a similar effect”." 'via Blog this'

The real threat to the open Internet is zero-rated content

Guest blog: the real threat to the open Internet is zero-rated content – World Wide Web Foundation: "In Europe, ten small member states put forward a net neutrality proposal that, if adopted, would ban harmful price discrimination practices such as zero-rating. The proposal is fiercely opposed by big EU member states and their dominant telecom groups. The Netherlands and Slovenia, two countries that have already enshrined real net neutrality in their national laws, issued enforcement orders for zero-rating violations. In January, the Dutch Consumer and Markets Authority, ACM, fined Vodafone for zero-rating HBO Go mobile video streaming while the Slovenian regulator ordered Telekom Slovenia and Telekom Austria to stop zero-rating music streaming and cloud storage applications. Chile’s 2014 net neutrality legislation also bans price discrimination practices such as zero-rating. In 2014, the Norwegian, German and Austrian telecom regulators publicly asserted that zero-rating infringes net neutrality." 'via Blog this'

Virgin Media's snubbing of rural communities 'a travesty' says ex-BT CTO

Virgin Media's snubbing of rural communities 'a travesty' says ex-BT CTO - 16 Feb 2015 - Computing News: ""Somebody like Virgin could put a ‘village pump' [i.e. a hotspot] in and stand back and watch what happens", he said. Referring to Scandinavia's example again, he believes a fast broadband hotspot could simply be installed in the village, while locals work on the infrastructure.

"I think the UK has missed a big trick, because absolutely none of the BT UK funding has gone to the rural community - it's all gone to BT", he added.
"And this just seems to me to be a travesty. We put Wi-Fi in with no funding whatsoever, whereas BT wanted £140,000 to put fibre into the village. If Virgin are going to do anything radical, they could have done something like that."

Cochrane is also concerned that, with an ongoing emphasis on fibre to the cabinet [FTTC] rather than FTTH, "the big worry is the fantastic waste of money of putting in fibre to the cabinet with copper, and then in five years rip it all out and put in fibre to the home, and start all over again." 'via Blog this'

Pepper of Cisco: Traffic Peaks are More Extreme

Pepper of Cisco: Traffic Peaks are More Extreme: "Busy-hour Internet traffic is growing more rapidly than average Internet traffic. Busy-hour (or the busiest 60‑minute period in a day) Internet traffic increased 32 percent in 2013, compared with 25 percent growth in average traffic. Busy-hour Internet traffic will increase by a factor of 3.4 between 2013 and 2018, while average Internet traffic will increase 2.8-fold." 'via Blog this'

10 Gig - repeat, 10 gig - to 800K apartments in Hong Kong

10 Gig - repeat, 10 gig - to 800K apartments in Hong Kong: "Soon, the cost to the telco for 10 gigabits will be little different than the cost of ten megabits.  1 gig service over fiber costs the carrier very little more than 10 or 100 megabits. Equipment going in today is almost all ready for a gig. There's rarely any savings using obsolete gear that tops out at lower speeds. PCCW's Hong Kong telco has now upped the ante, bringing a ten gig - presumably XGPON - to all 800,000 fiber customers. Trials have begun and they expect to cover nearly all 800K by the end of 2015. " 'via Blog this'

Zero rating and its discontents: Millions of Facebook users have no idea they’re using the internet

Millions of Facebook users have no idea they’re using the internet - Quartz: "But a closer look at the data (available in full here) shows that 11% of Indonesians who said they used Facebook also said they did not use the internet. In Nigeria, 9% of Facebook users said they do not use the internet. These are largely young people; the median age of respondents with this combination of answers is 25 in Indonesia and 22 in Nigeria." 'via Blog this'

Premier League TV: BT shares up as Sky falls on concerns it overpaid

Premier League TV rights bidding war sends BT shares up as Sky falls on concerns it overpaid - Business News - Business - London Evening Standard: "Analysts at Deutsche Bank suggested Sky could push up subscriptions by £1 a month but have doubts about its planned £200-million-a-year savings, saying they would “test market credulity”.

 There is also concern that Sky is now locked into a cycle of football rights bidding after its takeover of its sister companies in Germany and Italy.

Bundesliga rights come up for auction in 2016, Serie A in Italy in 2017 and then Premier League again in 2018.

 BT paid £7.6 million per game while Sky paid £11 million. Between them they are paying an average £113,000 a minute for live Premier League coverage." 'via Blog this'

Virgin Media eyes BT with £3bn fibre investment - Sky pours £4billion cash down Premier football drain

Virgin Media eyes BT with £3bn fibre broadband investment- The Inquirer: "The investment, dubbed 'Project Lightning', will also increase the network's reach from 13 million to 17 million homes and businesses by 2020 as the firm looks to boost its current five million customer base.
Virgin Media also claims that it can offer broadband speeds of 152Mbps, at least double the fastest speeds available from rivals BT, TalkTalk and Sky.
Tom Mockridge, Virgin Media CEO, said: "Millions of homes and businesses will soon be able to benefit for the first time from broadband speeds at least twice as fast as those available from the other major providers.
"Consumers and business owners who want to make the switch to better broadband speeds now have an alternative: you can call on Virgin Media to 'Cable My Street'."  
However, the 'Cable My Street' initiative could mean that rural areas suffering from slow broadband speeds could continue to suffer."

Meanwhile, on a desperate Planet Football where BT mugged Sky into believing they could outbid them! 

'via Blog this'

Mobile Data-centric Price Plans – An illustration of the De-compose

Mobile Data-centric Price Plans – An illustration of the De-composed. | techneconomyblog:

"That AA’s data-centric plans for double speed appears to be cheaper than their plans at a lower data delivery quality level is not consistent with costing.

Of course, AA cannot really guaranty that the customer will get double 4G speed everywhere and as such it may not be fair to charge substantially more than for single speed. However, this is of course not what appear to happen here.

 AA’s lowest data unit price (in per Giga Byte) is around 0.6 – 0.7 (or 0.06 – 0.07 Cent per Mega Byte). That price is very low and in all likelihood lower than their actual production cost of a GB or MB." 'via Blog this'

Motion for a resolution on the renewal of the mandate of the Internet Governance Forum - B8-0130/2015

Motion for a resolution on the renewal of the mandate of the Internet Governance Forum - B8-0130/2015: The European Parliament:

"10. Stresses that it is crucial to continue efforts to ensure legal protection of the open internet and the concept of net neutrality, as an indispensable precondition for safeguarding freedom of information and expression, to boost growth and jobs by developing innovation and business opportunities related to the internet, and to promote and safeguard cultural and linguistic diversity;

 11.    Stresses that fundamental freedoms and human rights are not negotiable and must be protected online; regrets that some states attempt to curb the global connectivity of their citizens by censorship and other restrictions, and rejects the idea of a state-controlled internet;

 12.    Stresses the economic and social importance of online rights for privacy and of users’ control of their personal data; considers such rights to be fundamental for an open and neutral internet and for a level playing field for businesses on the web;" 'via Blog this'

Seven Reasons the New GOP Bill Will Not Give Us Net Neutrality

Seven Reasons the New GOP Bill Will Not Give Us Net Neutrality | Center for Internet and Society: "At first glance, the bill looks great — it appears to ban prioritization, throttling, and blocking, echoing language used by President Obama and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to describe their proposals. But upon closer examination, the bill is so narrowly written that it fails to deliver meaningful network neutrality.

Here’s a summary of the key problems with the bill, explained in detail in our recent article in the Stanford Law Review Online, New Republican Bill is Network Neutrality in Name Only." 'via Blog this'

36 Leading Scholars to Federal Officials: Only the FCC Can Protect the Open Internet

36 Leading Scholars to Federal Officials: Only the FCC Can Protect the Open Internet | Center for Internet and Society: "Key take-aways include:

 This is the first letter by leading scholars that unequivocally supports a bright-line ban on all forms of paid prioritization (including zero-rating). The letter comes on the heels of the recent GOP bill that uses a much narrower definition of paid prioritization, banning only fees for prioritization, not for any other kind of preferential treatment.

The letter explains why the FCC is the right agency to adopt network neutrality rules that fully protect competition, innovation, and free speech online. In order to do so, the FCC must reclassify Internet access as a common carrier service under Title II of the Communications Act and forbear from unnecessary regulation under that statute.

 Some (including Republican FTC Commissioners Maureen Ohlhausen and Joshua Wright) argue that there is no need for network neutrality rules, because antitrust law addresses the problem of paid prioritization. The letter shows why antitrust enforcement alone is not enough.

The letter supports the complementary roles of the FCC and the FTC in protecting competition, promoting innovation, and safeguarding consumer interests online. Reclassifying broadband Internet access under Title II of the Communications Act could remove Internet service providers from FTC oversight. The letter supports repeal of the provision that exempts common carriers from FTC jurisdiction, so that the FTC can continue to protect Internet service providers’ consumers against unfair and deceptive practices and enforce the antitrust laws. However, given that the FCC will be able to effectively protect consumers under Title II even in the absence of FTC jurisdiction, efforts to repeal the common carrier exemption should not hold up the adoption of Open Internet rules under Title II next month." 'via Blog this'

FCC Officially Approves Change In the Definition of Broadband

FCC Officially Approves Change In the Definition of Broadband - Slashdot:

"As part of its 2015 Broadband Progress Report, the Federal Communications Commission has voted to change the definition of broadband by raising the minimum download speeds needed from 4Mbps to 25Mbps, and the minimum upload speed from 1Mbps to 3Mbps, which effectively triples the number of U.S. households without broadband access.

Currently, 6.3 percent of U.S. households don't have access to broadband under the previous 4Mpbs/1Mbps threshold, while another 13.1 percent don't have access to broadband under the new 25Mbps downstream threshold." 'via Blog this'

Google Fiber: Title II reclassification could ease access to utility poles, rights-of-way - FierceTelecom

Google Fiber: Title II reclassification could ease access to utility poles, rights-of-way - FierceTelecom: ""Pole access is fundamental and Google will never be able to make the case for Google Fiber without pole access," he said. "If Title II gives Google pole access, then it might really rock the world with broadband access."

The FCC has been an advocate of enhancing the ability for service providers to gain more affordable access to utility poles. In the Pole Attachments Order it issued in 2011, the FCC achieved two key goals: reducing the timeline for telecom providers to attach communications equipment (network electronics and fiber cable) to utility poles, while setting the rate for attachments by telecommunications companies at or near the rate paid by cable companies." 'via Blog this'

Here we go: 5 things to watch as net neutrality gets real

Here we go: 5 things to watch as net neutrality gets real — Tech News and Analysis: "Wheeler’s announcement on Wednesday left the FCC considerable wiggle room on zero rating by addressing the issue through a catch-all conduct rule. While this will provide a backstop of sorts, it also amounts to a loophole...that companies could take a run at in court, and in the market.

... Many thought the FCC would not go through with net neutrality because the issue is esoteric, and that would make it easy for the cable industry to shape the debate and the outcome. That turned out to be wrong, as citizens engaged in a record-breaking public comment process, and comedian John Oliver turned the topic into a viral video.

All of that helped to spur momentum in favor of net neutrality advocates, and pave the way for this week’s FCC proposal. But if Republicans try to use their power of the purse to undo all this, ordinary people would have to tune in all over again to stop that — and it’s no sure thing they will be as interested in doing so." 'via Blog this'

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler: How We Will Ensure Net Neutrality

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler: This Is How We Will Ensure Net Neutrality | WIRED:

"These enforceable, bright-line rules will ban paid prioritization, and the blocking and throttling of lawful content and services. I propose to fully apply—for the first time ever—those bright-line rules to mobile broadband. My proposal assures the rights of internet users to go where they want, when they want, and the rights of innovators to introduce new products without asking anyone’s permission.

All of this can be accomplished while encouraging investment in broadband networks.

To preserve incentives for broadband operators to invest in their networks, my proposal will modernize Title II, tailoring it for the 21st century, in order to provide returns necessary to construct competitive networks. For example, there will be no rate regulation, no tariffs, no last-mile unbundling." 'via Blog this'

Ansip strong political signals to EC: Sir Tim Berners-Lee blog on net neutrality

Guest blog: Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Founding Director, World Wide Web Foundation - European Commission:

Note the UK election on May 1st may mean less opposition to strong net neutrality in EU:

"These worries are not just abstract - net neutrality is already under attack. The Web Foundation recently released its 2014 Web Index, a study across 86 countries. 74% of Web Index countries lack clear and effective net neutrality rules and/or show evidence of price discrimination. In 95% of countries surveyed where there are no net neutrality laws, there is emerging evidence of traffic discrimination - meaning the temptation for companies or governments to interfere seems overwhelming.

The current landscape on net neutrality in the EU countries is a mixed bag. Some member states, like the Netherlands (which scores a high 8 out of a possible 10 marks on the Web Index), have already enshrined the principle into law. The Czech Republic, Norway and Denmark also rank well on the Index with a 7 where others, such as Poland and Italy, score only 2 out of 10." 'via Blog this'