Ofcom wants to hear your views on net neutrality null
Ofcom has published a call for evidence on net neutrality as part of a wider review into the legislation, which guarantees the principles of the open Internet.
The communications regulator confirmed plans to review the rules earlier this year, with the UK government now having greater flexibility to adjust its policies following Brexit.
Essentially, net neutrality forbids service providers from prioritising certain applications beyond standard traffic management measures and from charging content providers for additional fees for the preferential treatment.
UK net neutrality review
It was feared such practices would threaten the development of an open Internet and make it more difficult for startups and innovative applications to compete with larger players.
However mobile and broadband operators argue that it unfair that they have to invest in the network infrastructure to support increasingly data intensive applications such as online gaming and streaming from which others profit.
Ofcom says that since the rules were implemented back in 2016, there had been several developments in the online world, including demand for greater capacity, the importance of cloud technology, and the advent of 5G.
“So in light of these developments, Ofcom is carrying out a review of the framework to ensure it continues to best serve people’s interests while supporting competition, innovation and investment,” it said. “We have not made any recommendations at this stage and any changes to the framework would be a matter for the UK Government.”
Any move to weaken the legislation would be opposed by campaigners but welcomed by telcos who want more flexibility to support data intensive applications such as streaming and online gaming.
“It’s in everyone’s interests to maintain a fair and open internet but that requires rules to adapt to the way the internet has evolved,” said Marc Allera, BT Consumer CEO. “With the dependency on online services continuing to grow, we believe the time is right for Ofcom to be reviewing this important area, supporting the industry to enable a positive experience for all users in the years ahead.”
Ofcom will accept evidence until November and will publish its findings early next year.
Ofcom has published a call for evidence on net neutrality as part of a wider review into the legislation, which guarantees the principles of the open Internet. The communications regulator confirmed plans to review the rules earlier this year, with the UK government now having greater flexibility to adjust its…
Recent Posts
- Don’t wait for Memorial Day: LG’s C3 OLED TV just crashed to a record-low price
- Indie developers are trying to make horse games that don’t suck. It’s not easy
- The smells and tastes of a great video game
- The five-year journey to make an adventure game out of ink and paper
- Valoi Easy35 Film-Scanning Kit Review: Fast, Affordable, and Easy to Use
Archives
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- December 2011