ETNO response to the Commission Public Consultation on specific aspects of transparency, traffic management and switching in an open Internet

ETNO welcomes the present consultation. ETNO members provide access to the Internet over more than 300 millions broadband connections (fixed and mobile) in the 27 EU Member States and beyond, making ETNO companies a guarantor of an open, accessible and sustainable Internet ecosystem.

We welcome the focus of the Commission’s questionnaire on transparency measures. Today’s fierce competition in EU broadband markets together with proportionate and effective transparency requirements under the revised EU regulatory framework will ensure that markets provide users with access to the content, services and applications of their choice. The results of a BEREC investigation in May 2012 demonstrate that only in isolated cases the market has not yet delivered this choice.

Traffic management by operators is indispensable to ensure a robust, secure and efficient functioning of their network. It is also an essential tool to support new and innovative services as well as new business models in the Internet. Within the EU legal framework for competition and consumer protection, any restrictions of operators’ ability to manage their networks would have to be justified by an overriding policy objective, necessary and proportionate to the goal pursued.

The 2009 revision of EU regulatory framework has introduced reinforced obligations on operators to facilitate consumer switching. Levels of churn in EU markets and consumer surveys on switching behaviour clearly indicate that no further measures to facilitate switching are needed at this stage.

ETNO does not call for regulation of IP-Interconnection, be it at global, EU or national level. IP-Interconnection should be covered by commercial agreements, including on the provision of enhanced quality of service, allowing the development of new sustainable models of traffic and payment flows in the internet value chain, and supporting sustained investment in network infrastructure.