Out-Law News 2 min. read

Net neutrality fundamental to fairness, says BBC boss


Net neutrality must be defended if low income households are not to be excluded from new ways to consume digital content, BBC director general Mark Thompson has said.

Thompson conceded, though, that the BBC must work with ISPs to "minimise the stress" it places on their networks.

Speaking at the Oxford Media Convention, Thompson said that a fundamental battle was taking place on the airwaves and online over access to consumers of media. ISPs should treat all content equally so that material is delivered fairly to broadband users of all income levels.

"As the web becomes a vehicle for the transport of richer and richer content, the question of whether all content from all providers is treated equally by the networks becomes ever sharper," he said in his speech to the conference. "But we know ISPs routinely dampen speeds well below published headline rates. They also have the capability – which they have used in the past, though no major ISP is using it currently – to convey some content from some providers at slower speeds than others."

"Net neutrality [means] that, no matter how many fast lanes there are, the basic internet service – standard lane, if you like – should itself provide a very good, and consistently and fairly delivered, service," he said.

Thompson warned that if content was delivered to people based on commercial arrangements between producers and ISPs, or if only closed content platforms existed, then there was a risk that households that did not yield high Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) would be marginalised.

"Just as in the case of over-the-air broadcasting, the objective should be that, once we've achieved universal broadband roll-out, every household – not just those who have elected to pay for premium services, nor just those who want to access content in which the network provider has an economic interest – should enjoy a quality service," he said.

"[Public service broadcasters] and especially the BBC have another duty when it comes to both TV and web platforms: which is to encourage take-up of these new technologies and all the benefits they can bring by all of the public. Not just the enthusiasts, or the high-ARPU households, but guaranteeing access to everyone," he said.

Some telecoms companies have argued that they should be paid not just by subscribers but by the media companies whose increasingly video-heavy web content is creating demand for greater bandwidth.

Opponents of that view say that networks should be neutral, they should carry all traffic equally regardless of source so that subscribers have access to the entire internet.

The BBC's online watch-again application, BBC iPlayer, is often cited as the kind of application which should trigger a payment from the content producer to network operators.

Thompson said that iPlayer traffic grew by 27% last year and that there were 145 million requests for programmes through it last December.

ISPs, though, will welcome his admission that the BBC should be working with them to help them cope with the impact it has on networks.

"Do content providers like the BBC have responsibilities in that debate? Of course we do. A responsibility to work with the ISPs to understand and minimise the stress we place on their networks," he said.

Thompson said that net neutrality, the idea that all internet content is treated equally by networks, was fundamental to what public service broadcasting should be and to how society should treat all information platforms.

"At the heart of the public service broadcasting contract is the promise of as close as we can get to universal availability – delivery of a broad range of outstanding content to every household in the land, free at the point of use, unthrottled, unfiltered and with the same quality accessible by all," he said.

"It is this universal availability which underpins the idea of public space in broadcasting and it's just as relevant, just as socially and culturally important, in a fully digital world as it was in an analogue one," said Thompson.

We are processing your request. \n Thank you for your patience. An error occurred. This could be due to inactivity on the page - please try again.