Tell Them What You Think ^beta

1.1 The internet is increasingly central to the lives of citizens, consumers and industry. It is a platform for the free and open exchange of information, views and opinions; it is a major and transformative medium for business and e-commerce, and increasingly a mechanism to deliver public services efficiently. As such it provides access to a growing range of content, applications and services which are available over fixed and wireless networks.

1.2 Many of these services, particularly those which contain video content, require high capacity networks to deliver them. Some networks are already experiencing congestion problems as consumers use 'bandwidth hungry' services. Even in the longer term, as next generation networks are deployed, there may continue to be congestion problems particularly in wireless networks.

1.3 In response, network operators and internet service providers (ISPs) are making greater use of traffic management techniques. These can allow them to handle traffic more efficiently, to prioritise traffic by type, to charge for guaranteed bandwidth or to block or degrade the quality of certain content. . Whilst traffic management potentially offers some benefits to consumers there are also concerns that firms could use traffic management anti-competitively. The increasing use of traffic management also raises questions about consumers' awareness and understanding of the impact that traffic management has on their broadband service.

1.4 There is growing international interest as to whether, and to what extent, traffic management should be subject to regulation. Countries including the US, Canada, Norway and France are considering adopting 'regulatory requirements in this area. On the 17 June the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began a public process to consider possible frameworks for addressing the high- speed connections most consumers use to access the internet. This includes consulting on options to ensure consumers have access to relevant information about their broadband services and for preserving the open internet.

1.5 Proponents of 'net neutrality' argue that traffic management by network operators and ISPs could lead to discrimination, in turn harming what they see as essential features of today's internet . The debate ranges widely including questions such as whether citizens have a 'fundamental right' to a neutral internet, or whether 'net neutrality' promotes economic competitiveness and growth. These are important questions, but also ones primarily for governments and legislators.

1.6 In Europe the revised European Framework for Electronic Communications Regulation (the Revised Framework) includes some specific changes to legislation designed to prevent the degradation of services and the hindering or slowing of traffic. The revisions, once implemented by the UK Government, will introduce more specific requirements for greater transparency. They will also provide for the UK Government to empower Ofcom to impose a 'minimum quality of service on the internet'. The European Commission has announced that it will publish a consultation on net neutrality soon.

1.7 Against the background of this wider debate, traffic management raises two key questions for Ofcom, in relation to our duty to promote the interests of citizens and consumers in carrying out our functions. These are:

This consultation started on 24th June 2010 and ended on 9th September 2010.

Here are the documents we were able to locate that relate to this consultation: