TELECOMS PACKAGE : NET NEUTRALITY: A VOTE WORTH 22 BN EURO.

In its 24 February vote on the net neutrality chapter of the telecoms package, the European Parliament's Committee on Industry (ITRE) will be setting the boundaries of a market worth several billion euro, with a highly complex debate on civil liberties as a backdrop.

Sizeable revenues for online video services are at stake here: currently estimated at some 9 billion, the global online video market is expected to reach 22 billion by 2017, according to a study carried out by IHS, a group of experts based in London.

A war is currently being waged in the US between access provider Verizon and online video giant Netflix. In Europe, access providers who themselves function as content providers are putting their pawns down: Deutsche Telekom got a reprimand for trying to limit the volume of data offered to its clients - except where its own online video services were concerned. In France, Free offers its clients the possibility of blocking ads and at the same time interferes with Google or You Tube's commercial model. Coincidentally, Netflix is currently negotiating its arrival on French territory with Free and then Orange.

Blocking these websites, wilfully slowing down broadband speed or prioritising one content over another are manoeuvres that seemingly violate the principle of net neutrality - a term that does not adequately convey access by all to all points of the network without discrimination based on the provider or the content.

In its telecoms package, the European Commission had aimed to regulate preferential treatment that operators can offer to certain services while guaranteeing the quality of the basic service. Net freedom activists immediately protested, citing the risk of a two-speed internet that would prioritise the "big" leagues and be detrimental to individuals or small innovative companies.

The issue is a controversial one at the European Parliament. The notion of 'neutrality' itself is being widely discussed. A compromise was reached, under which the term 'neutrality' is understood to "also" apply to all internet users. The "reasonable" management of traffic...