LIRNEasia unconference at Stockholm Internet Forum 2015 on Zero Rating. » LIRNEasia - a regional ICT policy and regulation think tank active across the Asia Pacific:
"Some said that zero rated content simply creates a ghetto-ized version of the Internet for the poor and therefore should not be allowed.
Others said even a ghetto-ized version of the Internet is better than no Internet.
Somewhere in the middle were those who said the full and open Internet is to be aspired to, but in the interim ZR is not bad for now.
Yet others were of the opinion that this is a passing business model phenomena which would have evolved anyway by the time the regulators and policy makers get their act together.
Also in the middle were those who said Zero Rated content is only needed because prices for real Internet access are so high, so we should do something about that." 'via Blog this'
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Competition watchdog clears BT's £12.5bn takeover of EE
Competition watchdog clears BT's £12.5bn takeover of EE:
"John Wooton, chair of the CMA inquiry, said: "We provisionally think that the retail mobile market in the UK, with four main mobile providers and a substantial number of smaller operators, is competitive."
"The group does not provisionally believe that, in a dynamic and evolving sector, it is more likely than not that BT/EE will be able to use its position to damage competition or the interests of consumers."
The CMA pointed out that EE is a relatively small player in the fixed-line broadband market, while BT is currently a relatively small mobile player." 'via Blog this'
"John Wooton, chair of the CMA inquiry, said: "We provisionally think that the retail mobile market in the UK, with four main mobile providers and a substantial number of smaller operators, is competitive."
"The group does not provisionally believe that, in a dynamic and evolving sector, it is more likely than not that BT/EE will be able to use its position to damage competition or the interests of consumers."
The CMA pointed out that EE is a relatively small player in the fixed-line broadband market, while BT is currently a relatively small mobile player." 'via Blog this'
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Dear Mark, I’d like to share a small piece of India’s history: We called it, “License Raj”.
Dear Mark, while you’re in Delhi, I’d like to share a small piece of India’s history: We called it, “License Raj”.: "So here’s my humble appeal: If you want to make the internet free for everyone by all means do it. Do it by paying a small part of their bill. Hell, why not provide 10Mb per month to every subscriber who doesn’t buy an internet pack?
Because let’s face it what else will they do on the internet but log on to Facebook? You already account for 20% of all time spent online globally. If you keep improving your product and create some positive sentiment by essentially being a benevolent creator of access, that share will only go up.
I know it’s seductive to think about going after 100% of the next 2 billion.
But when you do, be sure to remember the License Raj." 'via Blog this'
Because let’s face it what else will they do on the internet but log on to Facebook? You already account for 20% of all time spent online globally. If you keep improving your product and create some positive sentiment by essentially being a benevolent creator of access, that share will only go up.
I know it’s seductive to think about going after 100% of the next 2 billion.
But when you do, be sure to remember the License Raj." 'via Blog this'
Oettinger: a significant step towards a digital single market without borders - European Commission
Good news for European citizens a significant step towards a digital single market without borders - European Commission:
"The new regime also improves transparency for consumers: operators will have to inform their subscribers about guaranteed internet speeds and the remedies available if they do not get those speeds.
There will be no "fast lanes": we have banned paid prioritisation and all traffic has to be treated equally. Our rules allow under the strict supervision of national regulators to treat the data traffic other than the access to internet, such as for example data generated by a medical sensor as specialised services provided that the open internet is not negatively affected.
Again under the strict supervision of National Regulators
Commercial agreements and practices, including "zero rating" that circumvent the rules or limit the user choice will not be allowed. There will not be different classes of internet traffic, as the new rules oblige providers of internet access to treat all traffic in the same way.
Finally, service providers will not be able to slow down traffic any time they like by referring to a threat to network congestion. There are very strict conditions, to block, throttle or take discriminatory actions in order to mitigate the effects of congestion.
Such measures are only permitted if congestion is "exceptional" or "temporary". A provider whose network is continuously or repeatedly congested cannot invoke this exception but has to invest into capacity extension.
The National Regulators will monitor the application of those rules and will have the power to inhibit illicit behaviour and impose sanctions when necessary." 'via Blog this'
"The new regime also improves transparency for consumers: operators will have to inform their subscribers about guaranteed internet speeds and the remedies available if they do not get those speeds.
There will be no "fast lanes": we have banned paid prioritisation and all traffic has to be treated equally. Our rules allow under the strict supervision of national regulators to treat the data traffic other than the access to internet, such as for example data generated by a medical sensor as specialised services provided that the open internet is not negatively affected.
Again under the strict supervision of National Regulators
Commercial agreements and practices, including "zero rating" that circumvent the rules or limit the user choice will not be allowed. There will not be different classes of internet traffic, as the new rules oblige providers of internet access to treat all traffic in the same way.
Finally, service providers will not be able to slow down traffic any time they like by referring to a threat to network congestion. There are very strict conditions, to block, throttle or take discriminatory actions in order to mitigate the effects of congestion.
Such measures are only permitted if congestion is "exceptional" or "temporary". A provider whose network is continuously or repeatedly congested cannot invoke this exception but has to invest into capacity extension.
The National Regulators will monitor the application of those rules and will have the power to inhibit illicit behaviour and impose sanctions when necessary." 'via Blog this'
Parliament says yes to 'open Internet', no to #netneutrality
Parliament has confirmed the cave-in agreed by Pila de Castillo with governments. This means
[a] ‘open Internet’ (no mention of net neutrality in text) becomes EU law
via a directly effective Regulation in a month or so (expect publication in
Official Journal just before Christmas)
[b] BEREC – the European regulators’ club – has to issue guidelines in 9 months after that for how to enforce
[c] Zero rating remains a point of obscurity in both the Europe and US –
except in Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia where it is currently banned. How those
laws interact with the new Regulation will be a bone of contention…
The social democrats and Christian democrats (roughly: Democrats and
Republicans) all voted against it with one or two exceptions. Split 438-236 on
the specialised services amendment in particular.
As you would expect supporters of neutrality in the Parliament are less than impressed and right to be.
Monday, October 26, 2015
ConnectedContinent - the legislative history so far....
EUR-Lex - 52013PC0627 - EN - EUR-Lex: "COM (2013) 627: Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL laying down measures concerning the European single market for electronic communications and to achieve a Connected Continent, and amending Directives 2002/20/EC, 2002/21/EC and 2002/22/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1211/2009 and (EU) No 531/2012" 'via Blog this'
Digital India: Did Modi get it wrong in Silicon Valley? Zero rating and Facebook
Digital India: Did Modi get it wrong in Silicon Valley? - BBC News: "But then a tech website released what it claimed to be a portion of Facebook's source code, which allegedly "proved" that the "Support Digital India" filter was actually a "Support Internet.Org" filter.
Facebook quickly issued a denial, blaming the text in the code on an "engineer mistake" in choosing a shorthand name he used for part of the code.
But the "mistake" which has been coupled with a huge advertising blitz for Internet.Org across television channels and newspapers has raised suspicion about Facebook's motives.
A Facebook poll on Internet.Org that frequently appears on Indian user timelines has also been ridiculed for not giving users an option to say no.
Instead the answer options to the poll question "Do you want India to have free basic services?" are "Yes" and "Not now"." 'via Blog this'
Facebook quickly issued a denial, blaming the text in the code on an "engineer mistake" in choosing a shorthand name he used for part of the code.
But the "mistake" which has been coupled with a huge advertising blitz for Internet.Org across television channels and newspapers has raised suspicion about Facebook's motives.
A Facebook poll on Internet.Org that frequently appears on Indian user timelines has also been ridiculed for not giving users an option to say no.
Instead the answer options to the poll question "Do you want India to have free basic services?" are "Yes" and "Not now"." 'via Blog this'
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