27th October 2015

ITSPA hails victory on net neutrality after European vote

ITSPA, the UK’s voice for the VoIP and next generation communications industry has welcomed the European Parliament’s approval of the Single Telecoms Regulation. The Parliament voted today in favour of the revised proposals which had been developed through trialogue negotiations between the European institutions during the summer. Proposed amendments to the text were rejected.

Reacting to the news Eli Katz, the Chair of ITSPA said “It’s been a very long road to get to this point and ITSPA is delighted that our long-term campaign around this issue is finally bearing fruit. This regulation will provide real certainty to ‘over-the-top’ providers that their services will not be blocked or impeded by any underlying network operators who dislike the idea of competition to their own services. We believe the final text is a good compromise that will ensure the Internet remains open and innovative, whilst allowing network operators to manage their networks efficiently and develop new services. The amendments proposed would not have created the balanced approach required for adoption by the Parliament. We are pleased that this has not de-railed the whole process.”

He added “ITSPA will continue to maintain dialogue with the European institutions, BEREC, the DCMS and Ofcom to ensure the effective implementation of the regulation. We will also maintain vigilance across the industry to ensure underhand behaviour is exposed and the principles of the Regulation are maintained”.

The Single Telecoms Regulation has been over two years in the making with net neutrality being a major sticking point. As a trade association which represents both network operators and ‘over-the-top’ providers, ITSPA has always believed that its position has provided a sensible and balanced opinion around the whole issue. The provisions will apply to all Member States from April 2016 and ITSPA will participate in any future consultations around guidelines to be produced by BEREC.

 

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