BEREC events 2016

BEREC expert workshop on IP-Interconnection in co-operation with the OECD

Event date:
21-11-2016

Event location: Belgium, Brussels

Application deadline: 21-11-2016

BEREC has previously organised two expert workshops on IP-interconnection in co-operation with the OECD. These took place in 2011 and 2012. In November 2016, the goal of the third workshop was to bring experts from the IP-interconnection community in contact with experts on interconnection from national regulatory authorities and to discuss future IP-interconnection in light of recent market developments and legislative initiatives such as the EU Regulation 2015/2120 including rules on Net neutrality in the European Union and the FCC’s Open Internet Order in the United States.

BEREC has fulfilled its task to publish Guidelines on net neutrality in August 2016. With regard to IP-interconnection it clarified that the EU-Regulation 2015/2120 in its Art. 3 (3) concerns equal treatment of all traffic “when providing internet access service” and therefore excludes IP interconnection practices from its scope. However it is acknowledged that NRAs may take into account the interconnection policies and practices of ISPs in so far as they have the effect of limiting the exercise of end-user rights under Art.3(1) of the Regulation.

BEREC’s 2012 report, ‘An assessment of IP interconnection in the context of net neutrality’, described how the Internet ecosystem had managed to adapt IP interconnection arrangements to reflect (inter alia) changes in technology, in the (relative) market power of players, in demand patterns and in business models without the need for regulatory intervention. In 2017 BEREC will take a look at recent technical and commercial evolutions and update this report in light of new market developments as well as legislative initiatives. The workshop was also aimed at informing this work.

At the workshop the latest results of a survey on trends in IP-interconnection have been presented – the first such update since 2011 when it was featured in an OECD report on this subject.

Session I - Trends on internet connection 2016;
Session II - Measuring performance in Internet interconnection

Session III - Industry viewpoints on Internet traffic exchange

Session IV - Public authorities approach to IP interconnection