Europe seen needing regulation on Internet access

Europe's confidence that it need not follow the United States in adopting rules to ensure fair Internet access may be short-lived, as competition between mobile operators and service providers like Skype intensifies.

A debate over network neutrality -- the principle that all Internet traffic be treated equally -- has been heating up in the United States for years but has so far generated little public concern in Europe. At stake is the ability of Internet service providers (ISPs) to ration access to their networks, allowing them to manage congestion but running the risk they will favor their own services or those who pay more, restricting consumer choice. In Europe, telecoms operators such as Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom or Telefonica -- former state monopolies which typically have close relationships with national governments -- still have the upper hand. The European Commission has so far refrained from legislating to avert a looming conflict with the likes of Skype, Google or Facebook, which offer virtually free voice communications and messaging, striking at the heart of the carriers' business. But Internet service providers (ISPs) -- mainly telcos in Europe -- already actively manage traffic to make it more efficient, and the potential to do more to protect their own services or earn extra revenues may be too much to resist.