Brussels, 10/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - A virtual consensus has been reached on reading the comments inspired by the public consultation launched by the European Commission on 30 June on the existence of an open and neutral internet. The 318 interested parties were unanimous in calling for a safe and open internet to be preserved. Although the consultation did not reveal widespread calls for further EU legislation, it did show that more supervision could prove necessary in the future. On 11 November talks will continue as part of the "Net Neutrality Summit", at which the Commission and the European Parliament will examine a report on this subject that is soon to be presented by the Commission. “Our public consultation has attracted a wide range of responses. The exercise has provided the Commission with a very broad spectrum of views from all those interests involved. I look forward to continuing the discussions during the summit which will contribute further to our work on net neutrality”, said Neelie Kroes, the commissioner with responsibility for the Digital Agenda.
The public consultation was held between 30 June and 30 September. Here are the main comments and concerns arising from the submissions: 1) the effectiveness of the new telecommunications framework, which is intended to provide the resources needed to resolve problems linked to net neutrality, should not be assessed until after its implementation and application at national level; 2) traffic management is an essential element of the safe and effective use of the networks. However, this tool could be abused to favour one service over another. There are also risks to privacy arising from “packet-inspection” software; 3) the new internet business models could cause problems of neutrality; 4) possible problems of discrimination could end up having anti-competitive effects (according to BEREC); 5) the current market structures are satisfactory, but certain content providers fear that any changes to the tariff mechanisms could lead to a tax on innovation; 6) blocking telephone services over the internet (Voice over Internet Protocol, VoIP) raised concerns. (I.L./transl.fl)