Open Internet

12 Jun 2015

Consumers’ purchasing choices are driven by quality of experience, choice and transparency of traffic management, reports BEREC

The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), have published and adopted a timely report on net neutrality and which traffic management policies influence consumer’s purchasing decisions. The headline finding is that consumers unsurprisingly tend to favour packages that align with Open Internet principles*and that as long as “there is transparency, and consumers are able easily to switch provider, such services seem likely to predominate???. This supports the BSG’s view, backed by the UK Government and Ofcom, that transparency and effective competition are the best guarantors of the Open Internet.

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07 May 2015

The European Commission unveils plans to develop a Digital Single Market

Yesterday the European Commission unveiled their proposals on the Digital Single Market, one of President Jean-Claude Juncker’s top 5 priorities.

Their primary goal is to create a market where “individuals and businesses can seamlessly access and exercise online activities under conditions of fair competition, and a high level of consumer and personal data protection, irrespective of their nationality or place of residence???.

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14 Jun 2013

BSG publishes details of voluntary process underpinning Open Internet code

In July 2012 the BSG published, on behalf of signatory ISPs, the Open Internet code of practice. That code set out a commitment by signatory ISPs not to deploy traffic management in a manner that targets and degrades the content or application(s) of specific providers.

The code also committed to setting up a voluntary process in support of that commitment and the code of practice has been updated to contain details of that process. (more…)

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25 Jul 2012

ISPs launch Open Internet Code of Practice

Update, December 2014:

In the last quarter of 2014, EE, Vodafone and Virgin agreed to become signatories to the Open Internet Code. This is reflected in the list of signatories and contact details in Annex 1.

The updated version of the code can be found at: BSG – Open Internet Code of Practice amended November 2014.

Update, June 2013:

In July 2012, the Open Internet Code was published.  The full press release relating to this launch is set out below.

In May 2013 this code was amended to:

  • Clarify that signatories would not be infringing the code if they deployed content filtering or made available content filtering tools where appropriate for public wi-fi access
  • Publish details of how the voluntary system in support of commitment 2, relating to negative discrimination would operate

This updated code can be accessed here.

 

Original post:

Today leading internet service providers (ISPs) are signing a voluntary code of practice in support of the open internet.

The code commits ISPs to the provision of full and open internet access products and confirms that traffic management practices will not be used to target and degrade the services of a competitor.

This initiative builds on the transparency code of practice published in 2011 which ensures that clear, understandable and comparable information on traffic management practices is available to consumers. (more…)

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16 Mar 2011

BSG attends Open Internet Roundtable

The BSG attended today’s Open Internet Roundtable at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

It was a useful discussion and we are pleased that the new industry code of practice on traffic management transparency gained widespread support as a key building block for a properly informed and evidence-based policy discussion about the open internet.

Antony Walker, CEO of the BSG said: “The challenge ahead is to build a common view on how we safeguard the benefits of the open internet whilst also ensuring ongoing investment and innovation. It is important that this is based on the realities of what is happening in the UK market, rather than what is happening elsewhere in the world.???

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14 Mar 2011

Broadband providers launch new traffic management transparency code

New initiative will help consumers and policy makers make informed choices

Update, June 2013:

In March 2011, the BSG published, on behalf of the signatory ISPs, a code of practice on traffic management transparency.  The code can be downloaded here.

The press release accompanying its launch is set out below, explaining the commitment contained in the code.  In accordance with the code signatory ISPs subsequently published Key Facts Indicators in relation to their traffic management policies. Hyperlinks to this information from all signatory ISPs can be found here.

Please note that shortly after the issue of the below press release, EE signed up to the code in March 2011.

The latest version of the code, issued in May 2013, reflects the additional and subsequent signatories of the code: BE, giffgaff, KCOM, PlusNet and Tesco Mobile.

 

Orginal post:

BSkyB, BT, O2, TalkTalk, Three, Virgin Media and Vodafone will today sign up to a new voluntary commitment to provide better and more easily comparable information to consumers about traffic management. Together these companies account for 90% of all fixed-line broadband customers and 60% of all mobile customers in the UK. (more…)

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30 Sep 2010

BSG sets out views on net neutrality; encourages transparency for consumers

The BSG has been engaged in the recent policy and regulatory debate on net neutrality.

A term not easy to define, our approach has been to focus on what the issues covered by the term actually mean for the development of services on the internet.

This has been demonstrated by the agenda we put together for our conference on 9 September, ‘Quality Time? Meeting consumer expectations with next generation services’. (more…)

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