The Internet Service Providers\u2019 Association (ISPA) has made a strong recommendation to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to steer clear of any regulatory intervention regarding Net neutrality.<\/p>\n
The recommendation comes in the ISPA\u2019s submission to ICASA\u2019s high-level enquiry into the state of competition in the ICT sector.<\/p>\n
While there is no universally accepted definition of Net neutrality, it generally refers to the principle that all data on the Internet should be treated equally; in particular that preferential pricing should not be used to hinder the free flow of information across the Internet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a particular problem in the United States because cable providers there tend to dominate the Internet access market as a whole and there is an effective monopoly (or at best a duopoly),\u201d said Dominic Cull, the ISPA\u2019s regulatory advisor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a particularly helpful debate for us in South Africa as our market is at a different stage of development. We face a different set of issues in order to ensure fair competition here.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the most fundamental level, the ISPA believes that shaping bandwidth should be recognised as a normal, day-to-day part of network operations.<\/p>\n
The key point they wanted to emphasise was that consumers needed to be made aware of this fact, and understand the nature of the service they were purchasing.<\/p>\n
To ensure that the industry can communicate these concepts effectively, the ISPA has developed a terminology guideline to help providers describe services in such a way that they can be compared.<\/p>\n
Cull stressed that the ISPA stands behind fair competition when it comes to Internet access and content services, with the customer\u2019s ability to make an informed choice paramount.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this stage, rules should be primarily directed at prohibiting network operators from unfairly prioritising their own network traffic over the traffic from other operators,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if an ISP\u2019s customer wants to buy a service that is prioritised in some way, then he or she should be able to do so. The same is true for content providers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe principle we need to follow should be that when a consumer buys a premium service, it should not affect the service offered to other consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ensuring these options are offered and provided fairly can be done with existing competition law, as well as the Electronic Communications Act, Cull added.<\/p>\n
However, to prepare itself for further developments, it would be worthwhile for the regulator to reach an understanding of the underlying forces that are informing the debate elsewhere.<\/p>\n
In that way, South Africa could hope to avoid the issue of Net neutrality ever becoming an issue in the future.<\/p>\n
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