Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-11-16-Speech-3-411-000"
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"en.20111116.23.3-411-000"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, President-in-Office of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, net neutrality is the description of the neutral transfer that we want to see on the Internet, irrespective of origin and the content being sent. This is currently the case.
However, we have an obvious problem in that the global data volume will, according to estimates, potentially quadruple to 767 exabytes by 2014, and fixed network data traffic will increase by 35% a year and mobile data traffic by 107% a year. It will become congested on the data highways, and temporary overloads and blockages may result in a loss of quality.
That means, firstly, that the networks urgently need to be expanded. This Parliament has already taken many initiatives in this regard, most recently under the leadership of Mr Hökmark. We have a problem in connection with the expansion of the networks that also results from the fact that telecommunications companies pay for the expansion of the network, but Internet service providers pay nothing towards this. That is part of the reason why a debate has now been taking place over the last few years where it is increasingly being asked: are there now particular responses by operators that allow restrictions to be implemented in the network? The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) carried out a corresponding study among its members at the beginning of 2010 and discovered that certain operators do not always handle all data equally – in other words in connection with limiting speed, collection or blocking or the collection of additional fees, to give a few examples.
At European level there is – and this is where the debate currently stands – no fixed uniform definition of what net neutrality is. The principle applies that end users must be able to call up and disseminate information or use any particular applications and services. That has also been laid down in everything that we have so far adopted here, for example in the framework directive of 2002 and also in the telecommunications reform package from 2009. That was a very difficult negotiation. Ms Trautmann will remember this well. Here, too, the Commission once again made it clear that keeping the open and neutral nature of the Internet is extremely important and that net neutrality must be retained. It stated that this is a political objective that should also be stipulated by the national regulatory authorities.
The issue at hand that we have been giving our attention to – and that is also the reason why not only the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, but also the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection is currently looking at this issue – is the fact that, in individual Member States, we are already seeing reactions to this and legislative decisions already exist. On the other hand, there is the study by BEREC and the Commission has the additional task of examining the data once again in more detail in order to determine what problems exist and where they lie. Overall, the Commission is clearly of the opinion that no major problems exist.
In view of the fact that the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council will meet in December, we are of the opinion that we as Parliament must consider this matter in advance of this, and we have therefore brought the matter up here in connection with the debate on the task of the Member States to implement the provisions of the Telecoms Package by 25 May 2011. Two questions need to be answered by the Council. We would like to know what impact the Council thinks this reform package from 2009 will have in terms of guaranteeing an open Internet and net neutrality in Europe and how the Council intends to ensure a common approach in respect of the open Internet and net neutrality throughout the EU.
For us as a committee it is important that we are of the opinion that there needs to be a common European basis here, that we cannot have a fragmented space and that we must therefore assess, analyse and then also draw the necessary conclusions from the situation, where necessary. We will be receiving a document from the Commission and we are now waiting for the answers to our questions."@en1
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