GPPi publishes commentary on net neutrality

In an opinion piece published by Deutsche Welle on 2 May 2013, GPPi Director Thorsten Benner writes about telecommunication provider Deutsche Telekom’s new volume limits for fixed-line broadband customers, arguing that this could be the starting point for a broader movement for digital rights and innovation.

As of May 2, Deutsche Telekom will no longer sell flat-rate internet access packages. Users who exceed a monthly data allowance will face severe cuts to the quality of their service. After announcing the new policy, Deutsche Telekom ran into a firestorm of protests from a broad coalition ranging from internet activists to German economics minister Philipp Rösler. Rösler sent a letter to Deutsche Telekom CEO René Obermann and expressed concern that the policy threatens ​“net neutrality.”

Deutsche Telekom has pushed back against the critics. Its main argument is that ​“ever higher bandwidths cannot not be financed with ever lower prices.” Besides, the new limits target the small minority of heavy users comprising only three percent. Economists support the company’s decision. As long as there is transparency about pricing and competition, they do not see problems.

Benner argues that the disagreements come down to fundamentally divergent views on what the internet is all about. For Obermann and many economists, the internet is a marketplace where consumers choose between service packages and companies struggle for survival. From a citizen-centric perspective, the web is primarily a public space in which citizens should be able to express themselves freely.

Benner proposes that internet freedom advocates should use the public criticism by German economics minister Rösler as a starting point for intensifying their campaign to enshrine network neutrality into the law – not just Germany but in the European Union. Hopefully, the debate will mark a turning point, with Internet users increasingly realizing that they need to organize politically in order to fight for digital rights and preserve the web as a force for innovation. Thought of this way, Deutsche Telekom’s new volume limits could serve a good purpose.