Net Neutrality – the voluntary transparency code

Having trouble using BBC I-player with your broadband package? ever wondered why Skype was cutting out? The question of net neutrality (whether ISPs should be permitted to discriminate between different forms of content they carry) has been one of the biggest telecoms issues in recent years. Some countries, such as the Netherlands have passed legislation to protect the free and open internet whilst others such as the UK have argued that in competitive markets consumers should be able to choose other broadband providers if they find their current providers dont provide open enough internet services. The European Commission has so far backed the hands off- competitive approach, but in the US it was the Regulator, the FCC, that controversially issued open internet ‘Rules’ in 2010.