Net Neutrality in Slovenia and Beyond

1. Net Neutrality in Slovenia and Beyond

2. Contents • net neutrality is not goal it is means • political economy of technology • the power of scarcity • and how it relates to net neutrality • the law in Slovenia • the product and the process • conclusions

3. Political Economy(of technology) • "The study and use of how economic theory and methods influences political ideology." • "How political forces affect the choice of economic policies, especially as to distributional conflicts and political institutions". • distributional conflicts increasingly political • state budgets from 10% to 50% GDP in one century • internet as a political force • internet as (re)distributionalforce

4. Key Political Economy Question: Does the Internet (Cloud, Web) increase inequality

5. Thesis: yes • a tool for the rich • digital divides • rich, poor countries • rich cities, poor rural areas • rich, poor people • the silicon valley super-rich • the destruction of the white collar middle class

6. Antithesis: no • inequalities in internet access are smaller than inequalities in other material goods • internet speeds of the rich are not as much faster as much they are richer • rich and poor with same internet services • Google, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, MOOCH … • but very different real-world services • Club med vs. stay at home, • Wallmart vs. Harrods … • BMW vs. Toyota …

7. Synthesis: both partly correct … • ICTs are killing middle class's routine but well paid white collar jobs • destruction of the middle class • ICTs and globalization are enabling super achievers • from the best in town, to best in the world • internet is an infrastructure of opportunity • increases social mobility • empowers people, the masses

8. Conclusion:preserve the open nature of the Internet • open ideas: source, access, markets • competition of talent with ideas • competition of entrepreneurs with ambition • not a competition of lawyers • open for newcomers: keep it simple • because it is simple, a garage company can disrupt the industry every decade • Apple, Microsoft, Google, Apple, Facebook … • open pipelines: net neutrality • preserve the competition among services and not artificially introduce scarcity of connectivity • open for business • wholikesscarcity

9. Business likes scarcity,engineers like scarcity • Scarcity means the ability to charge more • for stuff that is scarce • Scarcity means the possibility to innovate • to make scarce things opulent • no scarcity – no efficiency • e.g. use of atmospheric CO2 • little or no scarcity • prices reflect costs • artificial scarcity • pricesreflect market power • "Remember that no company has power unless it has scarcity, and often that scarcity is something we give them through our own laziness."

10. How much scarcity is good • how to create scarcity in an industry driven by Moore's law • artificially • "How can we tell the difference between things that are expensive because they are naturally scarce, and things that are expensive because of artificial means—legislation, regulation, or foul play?" • throtling internet is an artificial limitation

11. True:bandwidth is not unlimited • "If we want to change behavior to correct the inefficiency, we need to address prices at the margin, not average prices." • charge • all traffic • traffic at congested hours • … • plenty of opportunities for prices to reflect costs within the frames of net neutrality

12. The Slovenian Case • "A politician who is in favor of markets believes in the importance of competition and wants to prevent businesses from getting too much scarcity power. • A politician who’s too influenced by corporate lobbyists will do exactly the reverse."

13. BEREC Definition • "Net neutrality’ shall mean the principle by which all internet traffic on a public communications network is treated equally irrespective of content, application, service, equipment, source and purpose of communication."

14. Article 208 of Slovenian Telecommunication Act • The Agency promotes the preservation of open and neutral nature of internet and the possibility to access and to spread the information or use of applications and services at free choice of the end-users. • The Agency has to take into consideration the goals determined in the previous paragraph especially when executing its competences as indicated in the points 3 and 4 of the second paragraph of Article 132 and the third and fourth paragraph of Article 133 of this Act and when it concerns its competences related to the execution of the point 2 of the first paragraph of Article 129 by the network providers and internet access service providers. • Network operators and Internet access service providers should strive for the preservation of open and neutral nature of internet and should not limit, hold or slow down the internet traffic on the level of individual service or application or execute any measures for its depreciation, except in the instance of: • necessary technical measures to secure undisturbed activity of networks and services (e.g.: avoiding the traffic congestion), • necessary measures to secure integrity and security of the networks and services (e.g.: an elimination of unauthorized excessive seizure of transmission medium – channel), • necessary measures for limiting unsolicited communications in accordance with the Article 158 of this Act, • court decision. • Measures from the points 1, 2 and 3 of the previous paragraph should be proportionate, non-discriminatory, limited in time and to the necessary extent. • Services of the network operators and internet access service providers should not be based upon the services or applications that are offered or used by Internet access service. • The Agency may issue a general act to carry out the provisions of the third, fourth and fifth paragraphs of this Article."

15. Process • May 2011: • The public consultation about a new ZEKOM-1 act started in May 2011. • October 2011: • first draft was published by the responsible ministry. • quite general NN provisions: The agency was supposed to »encourage open and neutral character of the internet« and »may issue a recommendation to that effect«. • One year: • public discussions, ten different events, consultations and calls for contributions, • formal inputs from around 70 stakeholders including individuals, civil society, all major affected businesses, ministries etc. • Summer 2012: • First draft submitted to the parliament • Fall 2012: • Final readings of the Act, • discussions related to an Article dealing with police and intelligence agency access to communications, not NN

16. Key actors in public consultations • The National Council for Telecommunications, • Special Interest Group on Communication at the Chamber of Commerce, • Internet Society of Slovenia, • major telecommunication operators, • OmbudsmanforPublic Access to Information • internet forums: • voice for Net Neutrality, • formal consultations: • dominated by actors against NN • politically: • USA: left: for neutrality, right: against • Slovenia: vice versa • interest group find a political vehicle regardless of ideology

17. Conclusion • Net Neutrality is important to preserve the internet as a force reducing inequality • ISPs must find other means to pay for needed investment • Publicconsultation in thelegislationprocesscantiltthe scale towards a net neutralitysolution

18. TheEnd @zigaTurk ziga.turk@gmail.com