Public consultation on draft BEREC Guidelines on implementation of net neutrality rules

June 6, 2016

EETT informs that the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) holds
a public consultation from June 6 to July 18, 2016 on guidelines for the implementation of the
European Regulation 2015/2120, which provides, inter alia, the adoption of measures for the
protection of free Internet access. The Regulation, which imposes increased obligations to
companies that provide telecommunications services and to the National Regulatory Authorities, is
in force since April 30, 2016, while the publication of the final guidelines for the implementation
of the member states is set for August 30, 2016.

In particular, for telecoms service providers, the Regulation includes provisions for all
networks, fixed and mobile, about:

– the right of end-users to access  applications and services of their choice

– commercial practices (e.g., content pricing discriminations)

– the reasonable data traffic management practices in accordance with the principles of
transparency, non-discrimination and proportionality

– the monitoring and management of personal data

– the provision of specialized services with a specific level of quality (e.g., specialized
IPTV applications)

– the provision of information in subscriber contracts about the realistically achievable
speed, the traffic management practices and any restrictions on access to the Internet (e.g., port
blocking)

– the right of subscribers to compensation in cases of significant discrepancies between the
actual performance of the Internet access service and the performance indicated in the contract

– the monitoring of service quality by the competent bodies (e.g., by performing or utilizing
users’ measurements via tools such as EETT’s Performance Evaluation System of Broadband Connections
”
Hyperion“).

The Regulation sets increased monitoring and control obligations to National Regulatory
Authorities. In this respect, national regulatory authorities will monitor and publish annual
reports describing compliance with the Regulation in their country, including the results of
service quality measurements and data from consumer complaints about the deterioration, blockings
or other restrictions on the use of Internet services and applications.

It is noted that the principle of net neutrality refers to the equal treatment of all traffic
on the Internet without discrimination or charges depending on the user, the carried content, the
platform implementation, the type of equipment or the mode of communication.

BEREC is the European body composed by the  regulatory authorities of EU and EEA member
states.

For further information and the text of the public consultation please visit:

http://berec.europa.eu/eng/news_consultations/ongoing_public_consultations/3771-public-consultation-on-draft-berec-guidelines-on-implementation-of-net-neutrality-rules