Net neutrality update November 2017

The US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) issued a statement in relation to its draft Restoring Internet Freedom Order, which will be voted on at the FCC’s Open Meeting on December 14th 2017. The Order proposes to replace the 2015 Open Internet Order and restore the Internet to a light-touch regulatory framework by classifying broadband Internet access as an information service. See this previous update for further background. Ars Technica reported that protests against the new rules are planned for 7th December, following on from previous protests on 12th July 2017.

BBC News reported that shares in US telecoms companies rose following the FCC’s statement and that Facebook, Google and start-ups oppose the new Order. Trade association US Telecom had previously reported that broadband investment in the US declined in 2016, “continuing a trend that began two years ago after the FCC reclassified broadband providers as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act.” However Mobile World Live presented analysis suggesting that fluctuations in investments are dependent upon more than the FCC’s 2015 Order. EdSurge reported the case made for net neutrality by US academic leaders at the annual EDUCAUSE conference,

BBC News also this month reported that India's telecom regulator had published recommendations strongly backing net neutrality (further details here). In October ZDnet and Lexology reported that the German telecommunications regulator had issued a decision on Deutsche Telekom's "zero-rated" StreamOn offers, ruling that the scheme is legal, but the company must make some modifications

 In September the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) published a study on net neutrality regulation in Chile, India and the USA to inform “public debate and constitute a valuable source of practical information for European NRAs and BEREC while implementing EU regulation 2015/2120”. Public policy think tank the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) published an analysis of the “unintended consequences” of Europe’s net neutrality regulations.