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Telecommunications OECD weighs into net neutrality debate
Telecommunications OECD weighs into net neutrality debate | OECD weighs into net neutrality debate |
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| by Stuart Corner | |
| Sunday, 20 May 2007 | |
  
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The OECD report says some kind of traffic prioritisation is inevitable, "There is likely a wide range of future innovations that will require better quality of service than the current Internet can provide. Certain Internet providers have even put forward that they believe traffic prioritisation is inevitable for the future functioning of the Internet." And it says that "the ability to designate priority to certain applications will be a boon for consumers and providers as long as there is sufficient competition in the market." The report sees the key issue for policy makers as being the maintenance of a sufficiently competitive market, in which consumers are able to switch service providers easily. "The debate over traffic prioritisation should focus on whether competitive market forces provide sufficient consumer safeguards on network operator behaviour...In analysing competitive conditions, policy makers need to consider consumer demands, the relevant technologies, and how technologies are applied in the marketplace." Importantly for the current FTTN debate in Australia, the report notes that "Open-access fibre networks, such as those where the physical infrastructure is owned by a cooperative or municipality, could play an important role in the debate over traffic prioritisation. Open access networks that separate the provision of physical infrastructure from service delivery could significantly reduce anti-competitive traffic shaping incentives by allowing a variety of providers to offer video, voice and data services in the same market over the same physical infrastructure." Telstra has promised that, if its FTTN network goes ahead, access will be available to all access seekers, but has not yet provided any details as to the exact level of access - such as whether service providers would be able to differentiate their services with individual prioritisation schemes, or whether they would have to take whatever scheme Telstra offered. Also there are presently technical limitations to the ability to apply a consistent traffic prioritisation scheme end-to-end across different interconnected networks. The OECD report says that "A market-based solution is preferable to intervention in the market as a way to deal with issues regarding traffic prioritisation, but it suggest that it may be helpful for governments to publish a set of general principles for market participants. However it is still early days: "There is little evidence of anti-competitive conduct to date and problems have typically been resolved quickly via market forces or through quick regulatory intervention in markets where they have appeared...From the current state of the discussions it seems premature for governments to become involved at the level of network-to-network traffic exchange and demand neutral packet treatment for content providers. The report can be downloaded from the OECD website, here.{moscomment} |
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