European parliament votes to end roaming charges, adopts 'net neutrality'

[Himanshu Arora]

The European Parliament voted on Thursday in favor of abolishing mobile phone roaming fees and barring Internet service providers from charging data-hungry services for faster network access, according to a BBC report. The roaming fees are expected to phase out by December 2015.

The proposed law also prohibits telecoms and ISPs from ditching popular services like Skype, Whatsapp, and more, in favor of their own offerings.

"Today’s vote creates safeguards to ensure that players without deep pockets, such as start-ups, hospitals or universities, cannot be pushed out of the market as a result of deals between Internet service providers and content providers to offer faster services at a higher price,” said Dutch Member of the European Parliament Marietje Schaake.

The law favors net neutrality wherein all internet traffic is treated equally regardless of its source. In the current scenario, there is always a possibility of ISPs threatening to slow down traffic from data hungry services unless the companies behind them pay a fee. For example, in the US, Netflix is paying Comcast to ensure its content streams smoothly to Comcast customers.

While it's definitely good news for European customers, the proposed law has not gone down well with the mobile and cable firms, who are already terming it as anti-innovation and anti-consumer, as it would prevent them from offering enhanced services.

As it stands, the proposed law still needs to be approved by Europe's Council of Ministers, following which it could become law by the end of the year.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/56263-european-parliament-votes-to-end-roaming-charges-adopts-net-neutrality.html

 

[Guest]

Great job EU, you got it done! Why can't we get our act together here in the US concerning the same. Could it be that our lawmakers cater to big business at the expense of society in general? We need some serious reform in Washington, it is broke.

 

[Guest]

Great job EU, you got it done! Why can't we get our act together here in the US concerning the same. Could it be that our lawmakers cater to big business at the expense of society in general? We need some serious reform in Washington, it is broke.

Net Neutrality is not free market. This is socialism. People have voted to steal services from private companies. Washington should not be involved with the affairs of our economy....at all. They are the ones who screw up our markets, not businesses.

 

[wastedkill]

Ah so the EU parliament says it should stop roaming charges and adopt net neutrality yet it does the worst thing a stupid 9IQ person can do which is force people to invent quieter cars and make electric cars less efficient by making them have a speaker that sounds like a car...

Its like making it a law that all foot steps be louder or you could be fined and that the world stop global warming in 2016 or it will be fined or sent to jail... The EU parliment will literally make the stuff I have said happen they are the stupidest parliment ever even a monkey would know better.

 

[Guest]

Big ISPs got that way because of government granted monopolies granted them to 'provide services using government's Right of Way' laws to give them access to your home through many municipalities and even passage through private property without owner's permission. Because government.

And every one of those ISP/Telecoms has a monopoly position in its area. Now, they want to a piece of every bit of commerce that crosses those networks of wire, fiber and radio (also a government sold monopoly).

WOW, they want to profit from customers that pay for the bandwidth the consume. They want to profit from the people trying to provide customers with that content. These are company's so mega-wealthy they tell governments what to do now?

Thats just greed and power. No end user would ever rationally argue for a monopoly company to be granted even MORE power than it already has. These are already some of the RICHEST people in the world because of all the monopolies our governments have sold to them. So of course they want more.

So good on European Union! At least you tried. (Will never make it into law though too much money will fight it.)

 

[Guest]

Great job EU, you got it done! Why can't we get our act together here in the US concerning the same. Could it be that our lawmakers cater to big business at the expense of society in general? We need some serious reform in Washington, it is broke.

Net Neutrality is not free market. This is socialism. People have voted to steal services from private companies. Washington should not be involved with the affairs of our economy....at all. They are the ones who screw up our markets, not businesses.

Strongly disagree. Net neutrality is pro competition. It is what allows a free market to exist over the Internet. It levels the field, and rewards the most efficient ISPs. If it wasn't for the implicit neutrality of the early Internet we would be all acessing AOL via dial up modems and thinking "how great it is".

 

[SalaSSin]

Great job EU, you got it done! Why can't we get our act together here in the US concerning the same. Could it be that our lawmakers cater to big business at the expense of society in general? We need some serious reform in Washington, it is broke.

Net Neutrality is not free market. This is socialism. People have voted to steal services from private companies. Washington should not be involved with the affairs of our economy....at all. They are the ones who screw up our markets, not businesses.

Everyone who starts his counter argument with "This is socialism" gets a lot of scrutiny regarding the rest of his post. YOU didn't dissapoint, you don't have the slightest idea what socialism defines, do you?

And yes, I know, don't feed the trolls. I'm sorry

 

[Guest]

Great job EU, you got it done! Why can't we get our act together here in the US concerning the same. Could it be that our lawmakers cater to big business at the expense of society in general? We need some serious reform in Washington, it is broke.

Net Neutrality is not free market. This is socialism. People have voted to steal services from private companies. Washington should not be involved with the affairs of our economy....at all. They are the ones who screw up our markets, not businesses.

Strongly disagree. Net neutrality is pro competition. It is what allows a free market to exist over the Internet. It levels the field, and rewards the most efficient ISPs. If it wasn't for the implicit neutrality of the early Internet we would be all acessing AOL via dial up modems and thinking "how great it is".

There is no field more level than the free market. You either compete, or die. Once you introduce any form of regulation, it is no longer a FREE MARKET. You cannot "allow" a free market to exist by adding regulation. There is a motive to this legislation, and it is not to help to consumer. This takes the power of choice away from the consumer and consolidates it under the government. This only helps governments to control what traffic goes down what pipes.

 

[Guest]

Great job EU, you got it done! Why can't we get our act together here in the US concerning the same. Could it be that our lawmakers cater to big business at the expense of society in general? We need some serious reform in Washington, it is broke.

Net Neutrality is not free market. This is socialism. People have voted to steal services from private companies. Washington should not be involved with the affairs of our economy....at all. They are the ones who screw up our markets, not businesses.

These internet service providers/cable/cellular phone companies are getting away with highway robbery. Their greed has turned into corruption.

 

[Burty117]

While it's definitely good news for European customers, the proposed law has not gone down well with the mobile and cable firms, who are already terming it as anti-innovation and anti-consumer, as it would prevent them from offering enhanced services.

It's neither, this just means that ISP's now have to provide a decent network connection otherwise the consumer will go to a different provider, rather than having a rubbish service and pay for extra speed for things like Netflix, How is it anti-innovation?

And for the wireless carriers, I've been stung by a massive bill when abroad before, Before I went away I called my provider up, took out an add-on to my package so it was the same price to access things abroad but when I got back apparently I spent £300 on data?! Like hell I did!

 

[Guest]

Great job EU, you got it done! Why can't we get our act together here in the US concerning the same. Could it be that our lawmakers cater to big business at the expense of society in general? We need some serious reform in Washington, it is broke.

Net Neutrality is not free market. This is socialism. People have voted to steal services from private companies. Washington should not be involved with the affairs of our economy....at all. They are the ones who screw up our markets, not businesses.

Strongly disagree. Net neutrality is pro competition. It is what allows a free market to exist over the Internet. It levels the field, and rewards the most efficient ISPs. If it wasn't for the implicit neutrality of the early Internet we would be all acessing AOL via dial up modems and thinking "how great it is".

There is no field more level than the free market. You either compete, or die. Once you introduce any form of regulation, it is no longer a FREE MARKET. You cannot "allow" a free market to exist by adding regulation. There is a motive to this legislation, and it is not to help to consumer. This takes the power of choice away from the consumer and consolidates it under the government. This only helps governments to control what traffic goes down what pipes.

So then air space should not be regulated? Sea lanes? Radio spectrum? Lending money not regulated? What would minimum wage be without regulation? Do you want to live in that kind of society? Not me.

 

[Guest]

Great job EU, you got it done! Why can't we get our act together here in the US concerning the same. Could it be that our lawmakers cater to big business at the expense of society in general? We need some serious reform in Washington, it is broke.

Net Neutrality is not free market. This is socialism. People have voted to steal services from private companies. Washington should not be involved with the affairs of our economy....at all. They are the ones who screw up our markets, not businesses.

Strongly disagree. Net neutrality is pro competition. It is what allows a free market to exist over the Internet. It levels the field, and rewards the most efficient ISPs. If it wasn't for the implicit neutrality of the early Internet we would be all acessing AOL via dial up modems and thinking "how great it is".

There is no field more level than the free market. You either compete, or die. Once you introduce any form of regulation, it is no longer a FREE MARKET. You cannot "allow" a free market to exist by adding regulation. There is a motive to this legislation, and it is not to help to consumer. This takes the power of choice away from the consumer and consolidates it under the government. This only helps governments to control what traffic goes down what pipes.

So then air space should not be regulated? Sea lanes? Radio spectrum? Lending money not regulated? What would minimum wage be without regulation? Do you want to live in that kind of society? Not me.

Air space could be managed by the companies that fly planes, or a third party paid for by the private airlines. It is after all, in their best interest to ensure that no one dies on their planes. I'll have to get back to you on the radio spectrum, I haven't thought enough on that subject. Lending money DEFINITELY shouldn't be regulated. If the government wasn't there to bail out banks, there would be no incentive to issue bad loans. If they did, they would go out of business. If there was no minimum wage, people would be paid what they are worth. Most people are not paid minimum wage, because they are worth more than the random number the government decides is "livable". There would also be more incentive for people to make their labor produce more resources, so they can make more money. If there were truly an imbalance between wages, and what people's time is worth in resources, collective bargaining would be a free market way to correct it. Our society is based on theft, and subjugation. You are a slave to the tax man. You own no property if that property can be taken away from you. This the society you like to live in?

 

[Heihachi1337]

Great job EU, you got it done! Why can't we get our act together here in the US concerning the same. Could it be that our lawmakers cater to big business at the expense of society in general? We need some serious reform in Washington, it is broke.

Net Neutrality is not free market. This is socialism. People have voted to steal services from private companies. Washington should not be involved with the affairs of our economy....at all. They are the ones who screw up our markets, not businesses.

Says the person who watches Fox News like it's gospel, I'm sure.
The United States has been held hostage by corporations for a while now. Lobbyists and corporations are what ruin our nation and our government has been sold to the highest bidder.
Net Neutrality means everyone's internet traffic is treated the same. The BS that happened with Netflix and Comcast along with the recent Supreme Court ruling removing any cap on money being dumped on buying our government officials shows that corporations are out to screw us all.

 

[Guest]

Great job EU, you got it done! Why can't we get our act together here in the US concerning the same. Could it be that our lawmakers cater to big business at the expense of society in general? We need some serious reform in Washington, it is broke.

Net Neutrality is not free market. This is socialism. People have voted to steal services from private companies. Washington should not be involved with the affairs of our economy....at all. They are the ones who screw up our markets, not businesses.

Strongly disagree. Net neutrality is pro competition. It is what allows a free market to exist over the Internet. It levels the field, and rewards the most efficient ISPs. If it wasn't for the implicit neutrality of the early Internet we would be all acessing AOL via dial up modems and thinking "how great it is".

There is no field more level than the free market. You either compete, or die. Once you introduce any form of regulation, it is no longer a FREE MARKET. You cannot "allow" a free market to exist by adding regulation. There is a motive to this legislation, and it is not to help to consumer. This takes the power of choice away from the consumer and consolidates it under the government. This only helps governments to control what traffic goes down what pipes.

So then air space should not be regulated? Sea lanes? Radio spectrum? Lending money not regulated? What would minimum wage be without regulation? Do you want to live in that kind of society? Not me.

Air space could be managed by the companies that fly planes, or a third party paid for by the private airlines. It is after all, in their best interest to ensure that no one dies on their planes. I'll have to get back to you on the radio spectrum, I haven't thought enough on that subject. Lending money DEFINITELY shouldn't be regulated. If the government wasn't there to bail out banks, there would be no incentive to issue bad loans. If they did, they would go out of business. If there was no minimum wage, people would be paid what they are worth. Most people are not paid minimum wage, because they are worth more than the random number the government decides is "livable". There would also be more incentive for people to make their labor produce more resources, so they can make more money. If there were truly an imbalance between wages, and what people's time is worth in resources, collective bargaining would be a free market way to correct it. Our society is based on theft, and subjugation. You are a slave to the tax man. You own no property if that property can be taken away from you. This the society you like to live in?

No, not necessarily. Situations can occur in unregulated markets where competitors agree to not price down their services, or gain regional monopolies so to allow them to charge extra without providing adequate services since there is a lack of local competition.

Completely free, unregulated markets are not a panacea for competition. Hardly so. Conversely, highly regulated markets can be hard to get in to and tend to stagnate. The best solution involves working out just what sort of regulation is required to get the job done, giving the best framework for companies to work with whilst not inhibiting consumer choice or start-up companies.

Net Neutrality is simply the framework needed to ensure fair competition between companies without one holding the keys to the gate, as it were. Personally, I'd prefer if my ISP sold me a 'dumb pipe', not some connection where their own particular services are prioritised and subsidised by them charging their competitors extra just so their services aren't throttled.

 

[Puiu]

Great job EU, you got it done! Why can't we get our act together here in the US concerning the same. Could it be that our lawmakers cater to big business at the expense of society in general? We need some serious reform in Washington, it is broke.

Net Neutrality is not free market. This is socialism. People have voted to steal services from private companies. Washington should not be involved with the affairs of our economy....at all. They are the ones who screw up our markets, not businesses.

I can get 1gbps fiber connections for just 20$ per month, the plan also includes a free 3G USB dongle (unlimited) and no setup/hidden fees. this is what real competition does. the USA does it wrong.

 

[Railman]

Excellant news. I will be able to use my smartphone on the Continent without worry. I suspect the telecoms companies will do well out of this as it will increase usage overall leading to more profits rather than less.

 

[Gamesinner]

When are you socialists going to learn, whenever the government touches anything it turns to sh*t. In a couple of years everyone over there is going to wonder what went wrong when their cell phone bills go up, or the service goes down to accommodate government mandates.

 

[Railman]

When are you socialists going to learn, whenever the government touches anything it turns to sh*t. In a couple of years everyone over there is going to wonder what went wrong when their cell phone bills go up, or the service goes down to accommodate government mandates.

Sorry but you have too much faith in the private sector. The telecoms industry have brought this upon themselves by acting very irresponsibly. Why they can get away with charging people bills in the thousands that would cost them a few pounds only because they have crossed the border is totally unacceptable. Clearly they are not passing on the cost to them but are profiteering from their customers. Ironically were I live the company that operated my train service used to provide a shocking train service. When they were stripped of their franchise the service was run by Goverment agency and the service improved considerably. I just wish some people would see beyond the simplistic arguments of private verses public. There are good and bad examples of both.

 

[Bubbajim]

If pure capitalistic competition worked properly, there'd have been no need to legislate against roaming charges. The charges have been grossly unfair and expensive, and they're being scrapped. The idea of a few people here that this is a bad thing baffles me. Perhaps something about American capitalism is slightly different from over here in the UK, but we're talking about an industry who had to be investigated and was fined for forming cartels.

I'm all for competition within markets, as I think that's what drives innovation, but the formation of oligopolies does not help Average Joe on the street one bit.