Net Neutrality Law Clears European Committee
Last Tuesday, a panel of European lawmakers voted to enforce tougher measures to provide citizens with equal access to the Internet and eliminate cellphone roaming charges among the 28-member European Union.
The idea is to create a single market for electronic communications, so Internet and cellphone users are provided with equal access to all data and mobile services. Those against the proposal include some providers and lawmakers. The main concern is losing revenue when users roam in other countries. Additionally, providers would not be allowed to interfere with digital content or have control over what content loads faster, what loads slower and what doesn’t load at all.
Some consumers believe that the drafted proposal is too vague, and want more clarification of which services telecommunication companies can charge extra for.
Those in favor support the equal access opportunities. Pilar de Castillo, a Spanish member of the Parliament, said that if the law passed, “Posting a picture on Facebook or having a look at emails while abroad will be easier and we should no longer expect shockingly high bills for our mobile communications.”
Regarding specialized services, like telesurgery or intensive cloud computing, the general agreement among the Parliament is that these services will be offered at a higher fee, as long as it doesn’t affect the quality of services provided to other consumers.
A similar situation is occurring in the U.S., where carriers like Verizon have upgraded to bigger broadband networks to provide faster, more reliable services. Because of this, many companies are opposed to net neutrality and believe the company should be able to manage their networks as they please. However, U.S. regulators believe that such costly upgrades will give large, rich companies an unfair advantage and hinder the opportunities for startup companies.
The European Parliament is set to vote on the new legislation on April 2 or 3.
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