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EU: Telcos brace for net neutrality upheaval

By  |  March 31, 2014

EU officials are readying to vote on proposed legislation that would introduce net neutrality, a move that could swipe out a major source of revenue for telecommunications firms.

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    The rules would require all Internet service providers to treat all traffic equally across the EU. ISPs can currently charge online content providers to earn priority service delivery.

    But the European Parliament will vote Thursday on rules that would end the practice and restrict which online services for which ISPs can charge more. The vote could place the EU ahead of the US in the net neutrality race to enact consumer-friendly Internet rules. A federal court in the US struck down the Federal Communications Commission’s earlier proposed rules for net neutrality after they were challenged by wireless giant Verizon.

    According to reports, telcos in the EU are bracing for such sweeping changes as they continue to face higher competition in prices and fight for a share of revenue from music and video online streaming services. The telecommunications industry has expectedly criticized the proposed legislative as invasive.

    Full Content: Reuters

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