In this year’s State of the Union address, the US President, Barack Obama once again spoke out in favour of network neutrality on the Internet. He appealed to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to impose strict regulations in order to uphold neutral data transmission. It should also repress regulations that have already been implemented for broadband projects in some federal states and communes.
Obama has received limited support from the Republicans for this. They have brought a draft legislation before Congress that prohibits broadband providers from slowing-down or even blocking the transmission of legal content on the Internet. At the same time, however, the draft provides for a “sensible” network management in companies. However, what this actually means remains unclear.
In Europe, network neutrality is also currently the subject of tough negotiations. The news from the UK is that three additional major providers – Vodafone, Virgin Media and EE – have joined the Broadband Stakeholder Group, whose members voluntarily undertake to use their services to guarantee an open network and not to block any legal content. Although the group’s articles of association permit limited network management and flow control, relevant offers may no longer be marketed as Internet access.
In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel called last December at an event hosted by the Vodafone Institute for Society and Communication for preferential treatment of specialised internet services. At the same time, the federal government argues in favour of an open Internet.