ETNO Likely to Withdraw Controversial Revision to ITRs, But May Replace With Another, Kramer Says
The European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO) is likely to withdraw its controversial Internet traffic compensation proposal from consideration at the upcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), but is now considering another proposal the U.S. also finds problematic, said Terry Kramer, head of the U.S. WCIT delegation, Friday. ETNO’s current proposed revision to the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) would, among other things, establish a “sender-party-pays” model for Internet traffic compensation that could require the sender of any Internet content to pay for its transmission. Kramer made his remarks at a Telecommunications Industry Association event.
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Kramer said he met with ETNO Chairman Luigi Gambardella, and Gambardella indicated the group is likely to withdraw the “sender-party-pays” proposal. ETNO is now considering introducing a “Quality of Service” proposal in its place, which says a network operator would have the right to negotiate a quality-of-service set of terms, Kramer said. The U.S. is concerned about that proposal because in many cases it “creates worse service for the same price,” he said. It would be a subtle way of forcing customers to pay more for the same level of Internet service, Kramer said. “We're not happy with that, we don’t think that’s the right solution and we're going to continue to press on that,” he said.
ETNO’s proposal has generated additional interest from some nations in Africa and the Middle East, so the U.S. will need to continue to advance its viewpoint in the region, Kramer said. The U.S. opposed the proposal because it believes it shifts too much of the cost of Internet transmission onto the backs of content generators -- including small businesses -- as well as risks reducing Internet traffic, he said.
ETNO has said the proposal is meant to be a way to equalize what it believes is an imbalance between the amount of revenue operators receive and the amount of traffic streamed over their networks (WID Sept 12 p5). Since the beginning of September, Kramer has articulated the U.S.’s position on WCIT and the ITRs at several meetings of regional telecom groups, including the South Asia, Middle East and North Africa Telecommunications Council and the African Telecommunications Union (WID Sept 24 p5). English-speaking African nations generally agree with the U.S.’s view that market liberalization is needed, while the French-speaking nations have been less supportive of the U.S. position, Kramer said.
Reports have circulated that Saudi Arabia is considering a proposal related to Internet censorship in response to Innocence of Muslims, an anti-Islam video posted on YouTube that generated violent protests in 20 nations. Kramer said he couldn’t specifically comment on those reports because Saudi Arabia has not made a formal proposal. But the U.S. is opposed to any proposals that would increase Internet censorship, “whether it’s innocuous-sounding and friendly or whether it’s a direct message that allows content censorship,” he said. “If your goal is you want to create more religious tolerance, I can’t think of a better way than having a free and open Internet.” The U.S. will continue to call out proposals that sound innocuous but would increase Internet censorship, Kramer said.
The U.S. will know more about China’s position on the ITRs after a bilateral meeting scheduled to take place in the next two weeks, Kramer said. The delegation is already concerned about China’s position on content-related issues, such as traffic management and cybersecurity, he said. “I don’t want to negotiate in public with them … but I think the areas we're going to have more discussion on will be content-related items,” Kramer said.
The U.S. has fully formed its 100-member WCIT delegation, which will include people from government, industry and civilians, Kramer said. A “core delegation” of U.S. government officials includes representatives from the Defense and Commerce departments, the FCC, FTC and NTIA, he said. Industry representatives come from both the telecom and Internet industries, Kramer said. The delegation plans to release the identities of as many of its members as possible, but is allowing individual delegates to opt out of being named publically if they choose. The delegation plans to release the delegation list by Tuesday, he said.