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Net neutrality not for SA - or is it?

Bonnie Tubbs
By Bonnie Tubbs, ITWeb telecoms editor.
Johannesburg, 07 Oct 2014
As soon as meaningful voice applications abound in SA, ICASA will have to formulate regulation around net neutrality to protect consumers.
As soon as meaningful voice applications abound in SA, ICASA will have to formulate regulation around net neutrality to protect consumers.

Net neutrality - basically the notion that all traffic is created equal on the Internet - is not just a remote concept for international regulators to consider. It has a solid case on local shores, too, especially in light of the current controversy stirring in the industry around over-the-top (OTT) players.

This is according to local industry observers and comes after the Independent Communications Authority of SA's (ICASA's) inquiry into the state of competition in ICT last week threw a spotlight on the need for net neutrality regulations.

Net neutrality regulations would guide how mobile operators and Internet service providers (ISPs) manage traffic on their networks, aiming to ensure they do not unfairly limit consumers' access to Web sites and applications.

Up until now, the debate around net neutrality - a concept that sparked talk in the US earlier this year - has been largely seen as a consideration for service and content providers abroad, but either irrelevant or too ill-defined to stimulate action on the local front.

Last week's hearings revealed some of SA's telecoms operators' sentiments on the issue, with Telkom clearly not for it (saying it would be "detrimental" for consumers); Neotel expressing indifference, saying it does "not believe this is an issue of significant impact in SA"; and MTN largely sidestepping the issue on the premise that it is not clearly defined by the regulator -stating only that bandwidth management does not equal net neutrality.

ICASA spokesperson Paseka Maleka told ITWeb the regulator did not yet have a position on net neutrality, "however, the topic is indeed of interest to the authority in the longer term".

Net neutrality need

With many industry experts tagging net neutrality as a necessity and inevitable end in SA, the debate seems to be at this stage characterised by apathy and polarised views.

ICT expert Adrian Schofield says, despite beliefs to the contrary, there is a case for net neutrality regulation in SA - "thanks to the debate about voice over IP or voice over LTE (the so-called OTT services). If the telcos get their way, they will be able to discriminate against OTT services, which is not in the consumers' interests."

BMI-TechKnowledge director Denis Smit says, at the end of the day, net neutrality would certainly benefit the consumer, but it would also benefit mobile operators, which he says are likely to be the main opposing forces, due to the revenue OTT services strip off their bottom lines.

"They are whining now because it affects them in the short term, but it is good thing as it would force them out of their comfort zones and compel them to innovate and offer other services, like mobile money, financial services and other value-added services."

Lisa Thornton, electronic communications and new media policy and regulatory specialist, says net neutrality is relevant to SA in that service providers are working out ways to deal with OTT applications. "It's about control. And in SA, the telecoms/Internet/broadband market is highly concentrated, so of course the incumbents are going to argue against net neutrality."

Thornton says ICASA is right to be thinking about the future, which - according to Smit - will inevitably include the need for a ruling on the issue. "The need for a net neutrality will be driven by the market, so as soon as provision of quality voice services over the Internet takes off, it will force the situation. ICASA normally reacts to what happens in the market," he says.

Steve Song, open source advocate and founder of Village Telco, has written an extensive piece on net neutrality in Africa. The social entrepreneur - as he calls himself - believes net neutrality is essential for the healthy development of the Internet.

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