themamiddag netneutraliteit

Toespraak | 05-11-2009

Speech staatssecretaris van Economische Zaken, Frank Heemskerk, t.g.v. themamiddag netneutraliteit, donderdag 5 november, NH Den Haag

Welcome

Welcome to this conference on netneutrality. I am pleased you have come today to join me in exploring this important topic.
I see in the audience a wide diversity of participants, from network owners and internet service providers, to software and hardware providers and consumer interest organizations. I am very pleased to see such diversity, because it will ensure that all viewpoints in the netneutrality debate are being represented.

As you all may know, I find this debate to be a very important one. Netneutrality is a key issue in the brave new world of ICT and telecommunication! At stake is the freedom of internet use - which has implications for public values including consumer choice and innovation.
This is why I believe transparency is crucial.
Earlier this year, debate arose in the Netherlands when the use of Skype on the iPhone was blocked. As the person chiefly responsible for consumer and telecom affairs, I am not necessarily concerned if certain software is blocked. But the central question for me is: Do consumers have a choice?
Product differentiation is important. Consumers must have a choice between different product offerings. In a telecommunications market as competitive as the one we now have, my assessment is that consumers currently do have a choice.
As long as there are smartphones and providers that do enable the use of Skype, there is no problem! However, consumers should be well informed and should have a choice!
A recent study about netneutrality in the Netherlands confirmed my view that transparency is important to consumers and that it can be improved.

The question is: How do we guarantee that consumers have a choice and are given adequate information?
New EU regulations provide the answer.
The discussions around the European Commission's "New Regulatory Framework" have nearly reached an end.
In this regulatory framework, Member States will be given additional powers to act when a problem arises regarding netneutrality.
A first measure is a transparency obligation. As you will have gathered from what I have said thus far, I fully support this measure. To me, the obligation to fully inform users about any restrictions or limitations on the use of a service is an essential tool for ensuring that customers are aware what service they are purchasing.
As long as customers can also switch providers quickly and easily, the transparency obligation ensures that customers have the ability to vote with their feet in a competitive market.
A second measure that the New Regulatory Framework will give me is the legal means to define minimum quality standards. In cases in which the market is not working properly, I can define minimum quality norms for network-related services. In this way, I can act when consumers suffer from a serious deterioration of a service or excessive delays in the network.
These new measures should be implemented into our Dutch Telecommunications law by 2011. I am sure I will be able to use the insight I have gained at this conference when implementing these measures.
Do we need more?

As far as I can see, and based upon the thorough Dialogic study, the new EU regulations will give me the powers I need to act if and when a serious problem occurs.
Far-reaching intervention may innovation and consumer choice do more harm than good.
There are, for instance, various reasons for operators to manage the traffic on their networks - and some of these reasons are more legitimate than others.
For example, most of us would agree that network operators should be able to block illegal content on their networks, or manage traffic flow in peak-times to ease congestion. But should that same network operator be permitted to prioritise traffic of a specific service requiring high "quality-of-service" levels, such as high definition video conferencing? And should these operators be able to do that at the expense of traffic streams of a competitive service provider on their network?

This afternoon, you will discuss these and other issues related to netneutrality in more detail. I look forward to hearing your arguments for and against regulation of netneutrality. Perhaps we can find some common ground between us in this diverse assembly.
I would like to thank you once again for joining in this important discussion. I hope this afternoon will give us all a good perspective on the public interests at stake in the debate over netneutrality, and will give us a clear overview of the possible ways to secure these interests.
I look forward to hearing your views. I am very eager to find an appropriate solution for the regulation of netneutrality in the Netherlands -- a solution that secures consumer choice, innovation and competition.
Thank you.

donderdag 5 november 2009