BEREC Chair – “BEREC and NRAs have a role to make net neutrality implementation a success in Europe”

“European rules on net neutrality cannot be rebutted anymore. […] It is now to national regulators and BEREC to make sure that these rules are properly and consistently implemented over Europe” emphasized BEREC Chair for 2017 Sebastien Soriano (Arcep) at the “Digital-born Media Carnival” in Kotor, Montenegro on 17 July. The event was organised to gather hundreds of online media representatives, information explorers and digital rights enthusiasts to discuss the future challenges to freedom of expression and media professionalism in a connected public sphere.

At the panel discussion “Promises and Perils of Net neutrality”, BEREC Chair Sebastien Soriano explained the benefits and challenges Europe is facing after adopting the rules on net neutrality.

In his intervention, the BEREC Chair listed the actions National Regulatory Authorities can take in order to enforce the implementation of the rules (e.g. monitoring of the market, gathering information from internet service providers (ISPs) and customer complaint platforms and realizing measurements to detect traffic management practices).

Such actions also include the NRAs’ capacity to undertake coercive actions (e.g. by requiring ISPs to deal with degradation of Internet Access Services (IAS), ceasing or revising problematic traffic management practices, ceasing provision of specialised services in certain limited cases and ultimately they can impose fines on ISPs whose practices infringe the Regulation).

Sebastien Soriano again stressed that BEREC’s action is not just a matter of paperwork. It provides solutions, consistency and legal certainty. BEREC, as the umbrella organisation for enforcers of European Net neutrality rules, has a specific role to make net neutrality implementation a great success in Europe and safeguard an open environment for everyone: consumers, businesses and citizens.

Full BEREC Chair Sebastien Soriano speech at the “Digital-born Media Carnival” in Kotor, Montenegro on 17 July.