Ofcom, the U.K. communications regulator, is preparing for a big u-turn on network neutrality, as are regulators in the European Union region and possibly elsewhere. Having concluded that protecting local internet service providers actually is a bigger problem than any supposed anti-competitive behavior on the part of ISPs, regulators now are planning an about face on those rules.
Some of us might question whether the rules actually addressed a real problem in the first place. Since at least 2014, many observers, and even EU regulators, seemd to sense problems.
Network neutrality rules, as you recall, were supposed to “protect” app providers from anti-competitive behavior of internet service providers.
In some markets, such as South Korea and the EU, it now appears regulators are more concerned about protecting local ISPs from a few hyperscale app providers. And that will require overturning network neutrality.
The proposed new U.K. rules would allow ISPs to offer quality of service features banned by network neutrality rules, such as latency or bandwidth guarantees, traffic-shaping measures to avoid congestion and zero rating of access to some apps.
Some of us always had issues with consumer network neutrality for precisely the reason that it prevented ISPs from developing differentiated offers that consumers might actually prefer.
Quality of service for IP voice and videoconferencing apps were among the clearest examples. But gaming app or service also is an area where latency performance might be beneficial.
If net neutrality goes away, good riddance. It was a solution for a problem that did not exist and prevented innovation in the consumer home broadband business.
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