The  ITIF submitted an open letter calling on the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) to allow flexibility in the agency’s forthcoming net neutrality guidelines. The letter, which ITIF spearheaded, argues that net neutrality requires a nuanced approach, rather than categorical bans on certain types of behavior, as have been proposed by some of the most vocal advocates on the issue.

The group of experts urges BEREC to recognize that “[n]et neutrality, and surrounding issues like zero rating and specialized services, are not black and white: both sides of the debate have legitimate points, and the best solution from a consumer and innovation perspective involves tradeoffs and compromise.”

They go on to explain that specialized services and zero rating can benefit consumers and competition. “Rather than ban these innovations, better to follow a permissive, case-by-case approach informed by economic analysis, allowing for experimentation with beneficial forms of pricing or traffic differentiation.”

The letter concludes that in Regulation 2015/2120, which lays down measures concerning open Internet access, “the European Union established a consistent EU-wide approach to net neutrality, rightly recognizing the need for flexibility in this area. The regulation’s allowances for specialized services and zero rating are not ‘loopholes’ to be filled, but recognition of the need for optimistic oversight.”

ITIF Telecom Policy Analyst Doug Brake said, “Activists rallying under the banner of ‘Save the Internet’ have been very vocal in this proceeding, but they paint an overly simplistic, one-sided picture of the issues at hand. I hope regulators will focus on the nuances of this complicated issue as they move forward.”
 

Read the full letter.

 

BEREC Net Neutrality Guidelines Stop Short of Outright Bans, But Otherwise Hamstring Growth of Innovative Internet Services

ITIF released the following statement from Doug Brake, telecom policy analyst, on the Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications’ (BEREC) new guidelines on EU-wide open Internet rules:

It is good news that BEREC stopped short of categorical bans on offerings like prioritization of traffic, zero-rating, and specialized services, despite fervent calls to do so by net neutrality activists. But beyond that, the guidelines are unnecessarily prescriptive, setting detailed restrictions on each of these practices that will likely diminish pro-competitive, pro-consumer broadband-based offerings. We hope the continued success of zero-rating and specialized services sees an easing of these restrictions over time at the nation-state level.