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UK government opens door to 'two-tier' web
UK communications minister Ed Vaizey is backing a two-tiered system for UK web access, claiming ISPs should be able to experiment with charging users for different qualities of service. In a blow to advocates of 'net neutrality', Vaizey said ISPs could offer limited network access and charge a premium for full access to all sites and services, provided the consumer is aware of what they are buying. He also backed "self-regulation" by businesses rather than "top down" rules on web standards.
Delivering a keynote presentation at the FT World Telecoms Conference in London, Vaizey said: "We have got to continue to encourage the market to innovate and experiment with different business models and ways of providing consumers with what they want. This could include the evolution of a two-sided market where consumers and content providers could choose to pay for differing levels of quality of service."
The minister stressed that ISPs should remain free to innovate: "This Government is no fan of regulation and we should only intervene when it is clearly necessary to deliver important benefits for consumers... A lightly regulated internet is good for business, good for the economy, and good for people."
Open internet campaigners have already attacked Vaizey’s speech, however BBC technology chief Erik Huggers was quick to play down the comments. Speaking on the same stage immediately after Vaizey, Huggers said: "Nothing I heard in what Ed said this morning was a blow to the BBC, not a single word... What we do agree on is to maintain an open and neutral internet is absolutely critical."
