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EMEA: Industry groups challenge EU’s approach to net neutrality

Four industry groups issued a statement  on Jan. 26 that the European Union’s proposed net neutrality rules shouldn’t force them to treat traffic on their networks equally. The statement was backed by ETNO, GSMA, Cable Europe and Make the Net Work – groups that represent a number of carriers and suppliers in Europe including Alcatel Lucent, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Orange.

“To meet [customers’] diversified demand, operators are required to provide a wide variety of Internet access products and services in the interest of end-users,” the groups said. “In this context, it is not technologically efficient or beneficial for consumers if all traffic is treated equally. Nor has this ever been the case.”

While the net neutrality debate continues at the EU-level, several operators are running afoul of net neutrality rules in individual European countries.

Dutch telecom regulator ACM imposed fines on KPN and Vodafone for violating net neutrality regulations. In the Netherlands, providers are not allowed to block access to specific content or applications and cannot charge different prices for the use of various online services and applications. ACM found that KPN blocked services including Internet calling services, and Vodafone was fined for its plans that offered cable channel HBO through an app without charging users for the data used. KPN was fined $284,000, and Vodafone has to pay $227,000.

In Slovenia, state operator Telekom Slovenjie and rival Si.mobile were also accused of net neutrality violations. Regulator AKOS found a “differentiation of data traffic” between Telekom’s “Deezer” music streaming service, Si.mobile’s cloud storage app, and other Internet data that users downloaded.

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ABOUT AUTHOR

Sara Zaske
Sara Zaske
Contributor, [email protected] Sara Zaske covers European carrier news for RCR Wireless News from Berlin, Germany. She has more than ten years experience in communications. Prior to moving to Germany, she worked as the communications director for the Oregon State University Foundation. She is also a former reporter with the San Francisco Examiner and Independent, where she covered development, transportation and other issues in the City of San Francisco and San Mateo County. Follow her on Twitter @szaske