Developed countries or regions such as the US, EU and Japan veer towards net neutrality: Report

NEW DELHI: Developed countries or regions such as the US, European Union and Japan are veering towards net neutrality to promote openness and non-discrimination, India’s telecom sector watchdog said in a recent consultation paper.

However, some governments in the Middle East and Africa like the UAE and Ethiopia have blocked Skype, while in China, only major operators with basic telecom service licenses are allowed to provide voice over internet services.

France wants Skype to register as a telecom operator, but the calling app has refused. Korean net neutrality rules are silent on the rights of network operators to VoIP providers for the termination of their traffic charge and, instead, a “traffic usage based cost share” has been allowed to be charged from the VoIP providers, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( Trai) said.

In Germany, VoIP is subject to the same regulatory framework which applies to all other telecom services. Regulatory obligations include the provision of free emergency calls, availability of telecom surveillance, and retention of traffic data. But, the Federal Network Agency has said it will exercise its discretion, in the medium-term, giving sufficient way for the development of services like VoIP.

Deutsche Telekom (DTAG) lost a court case covering its intention to throttle data speeds above a certain volume. The National Communication Commission (NCC) of Taiwan is planning to regulate apps, under which certain mobile app developers will need to get an operating license from the NCC.