European Law and Regulation of Mobile Net Neutrality

Mobile is a rapidly growing and potentially major element of the future Internet, and its environment cannot be sensibly considered in isolation from fixed networks [2]. A note on terminology: Europe uses the term Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) while the United States uses 'wireless' Internet Service Providers (ISPs) [3]. 'Wireless' is somewhat more open in the United States. In Europe, mobile has always made special pleading for forms of self-regulation, as we will see. The article introduces mobile broadband, then considers net neutrality in the fixed environment including the new laws passed in November 2009 in the European Parliament, before considering the mobile net neutrality debate, the degree of price control regulation exerted on European mobiles and the MNOs' vigorous rear-guard anti-regulation defence. Finally, I look at the effects of this regulatory asymmetry and whether MNO calls for mobile to be treated differently from other ISPs can be justified. I conclude by examining what the effect of price and content control on mobile is likely to be for incentives for fixed ISPs and produce a result that I describe as the 'fixed' strategy

A National Broadband Plan for Our Future: A Customer-Centric Framework

Congress has recently charged the Federal Communications Commission to establish a National Broadband Plan. This paper argues that a customer-centric plan, which puts the customer in control of decision-making, will yield the best broadband result for the U.S. The Federal government must establish a market infrastructure that encourages competition, requires transparency of both network providers and application providers, and includes vigorous antitrust enforcement. Competition from wireless broadband is present now and will become far more prevalent shortly, on the basis of current and announced investment plans. Regulators must also make available far more licensed spectrum to ensure this competition is realized. Calls for regulation in the form of mandated unbundling and more unlicensed spectrum are regulatory cul-de-sacs with proven track records of failure. Calls for regulatory control of network provider practices (other than transparency), such as network neutrality, are misguided. Such decisions are best left to customers, who can very well decide for themselves which of the broadband providers offer terms that best suit the customer.Technology and Industry

Incentive Design and Market Evolution of Mobile User-Provided Networks

An operator-assisted user-provided network (UPN) has the potential to achieve a low cost ubiquitous Internet connectivity, without significantly increasing the network infrastructure investment. In this paper, we consider such a network where the network operator encourages some of her subscribers to operate as mobile Wi-Fi hotspots (hosts), providing Internet connectivity for other subscribers (clients). We formulate the interaction between the operator and mobile users as a two-stage game. In Stage I, the operator determines the usage-based pricing and quota-based incentive mechanism for the data usage. In Stage II, the mobile users make their decisions about whether to be a host, or a client, or not a subscriber at all. We characterize how the users' membership choices will affect each other's payoffs in Stage II, and how the operator optimizes her decision in Stage I to maximize her profit. Our theoretical and numerical results show that the operator's maximum profit increases with the user density under the proposed hybrid pricing mechanism, and the profit gain can be up to 50\% in a dense network comparing with a pricing-only approach with no incentives.Comment: This manuscript serves as the online technical report of the article published in IEEE Workshop on Smart Data Pricing (SDP), 201

Costs and benefits of superfast broadband in the UK

This paper was commissioned from LSE Enterprise by Convergys Smart Revenue Solutions to stimulate an open and constructive debate among the main stakeholders about the balance between the costs, the revenues, and the societal benefits of ‘superfast’ broadband. The intent has been to analyse the available facts and to propose wider perspectives on economic and social interactions. The paper has two parts: one concentrates on superfast broadband deployment and the associated economic and social implications (for the UK and its service providers), and the other considers alternative social science approaches to these implications. Both parts consider the potential contribution of smart solutions to superfast broadband provision and use. Whereas Part I takes the “national perspective” and the “service provider perspective”, which deal with the implications of superfast broadband for the UK and for service providers, Part II views matters in other ways, particularly by looking at how to realise values beyond the market economy, such as those inherent in neighbourliness, trust and democrac

MOBILITY MANAGEMENT IN EUROPEAN PROJECTS. LESSONS LEARNED FOR ROMANIA

The purpose of this research is to study three initiatives of promoting mobility management (DELTA, EPOMM, SEE-MMS), in the context of European Union policies, and to present solutions that could be used in the practice of urban mobility management in Romania.mobility management, sustainable development

VoIP Regulation in Canada

The CRTC recently released Regulatory Framework for Voice Communication Services using Internet Protocol (Decision 2005-28), Telecom Decision CRTC 2005-28, setting out the details of the appropriate regulatory regime applicable to the provision of VoIP services. We present a brief overview of Decision 2005-28, we then consider the positions of incumbents and competitors, and finally we comment on the above interventions in light of the economic theory of regulation and the theory of strategic competition. We conclude that the predominant model underlying the positions not only of the CRTC but also of the parties involved, including the firms themselves, both the incumbents and the new entrants, and their respective business consultants, do not stand the test of modern economic theory. Le CRTC a récemment publié la décision Cadre de réglementation régissant les services de communication vocale sur protocole Internet (Décision 2005-28) dans laquelle il fixe les paramètres du régime de réglementation qui régira la fourniture des services VoIP. Nous présentons d’abord un aperçu de la Décision 2005-28 ainsi que les positions des entreprises de services locaux titulaires et des nouveaux concurrents. Finalement, nous commentons ces interventions à la lumière de la théorie économique de la réglementation et de la théorie de la concurrence stratégique. Nous concluons que le modèle dominant sur lequel s’appuient non seulement la position du CRTC, mais également celles des parties intéressées, y compris les entreprises elles-mêmes, les entreprises de services locaux titulaires et les nouveaux concurrents, et leurs conseillers d’affaire, ne résiste pas à l’analyse économique moderne.regulation, strategic competition, telecommunications, VoIP, concurrence stratégique, réglementation, télécommunication VoIP

Do market failures hamper the perspectives of broadband?

This report analyses the broadband market and asks whether a specific role of government is necessary. As broadband telecommunication is seen as a source of productivity gains, the European Union and other regions are encouraging the deployment of a secure broadband infrastructure. In the Netherlands, there is some concern whether the supply of broadband capacity will meet the strongly increasing demand. The main conclusions are that presently, given current broadband policy, no considerable market failures exist. Firms have adequate incentives to invest in broadband, partly induced by specific regulation of access to the local copper loop. Hence, there is no need for changes in current broadband policy. Market failures in terms of knowledge spillovers are taken care of by other policies. As the broadband markets are very dynamic, unforeseen developments may emerge such as the appearance of new dominant techniques and market players. The best strategy for the government, in particular the competition authority, is to continuously monitor these markets, making timely intervention easier when needed.

Regionalizing telecommunications reform in West Africa

In recent years, there has been an increasing recognition that significant welfare gains could be realized through deep forms of regional integration which entail harmonization of legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks. Reforms that reduce cross-border transaction costs and improve the performance of “backbone” infrastructure services are arguably even more important for the creation of an open, unified regional economic space than trade policy reforms narrowly defined. This paper assesses the potential gains from regionalized telecommunications policy in West Africa. To this end, the paper: (i) discusses how regional cooperation can overcome national limits in technical expertise, enhance the capacity of nations credibly to commit to stable regulatory policy, and ultimately facilitate infrastructure investment in the region; (ii) identifies trade-distorting regulations that inhibit opportunities for regional trade and economic development, and so are good candidates for regional trade negotiations to reduce indirect trade barriers; and (iii) describes substantive elements of a harmonized regional regulatory policy that can deliver immediate performance benefits.E-Business,Environmental Economics&Policies,ICT Policy and Strategies,Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Emerging Markets