The Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications (BEREC) has published the preliminary findings of a study on Internet traffic management practices, following a Europe-wide data collection exercise launched jointly with the European Commission (EC) in December 2011.The most frequently traffic management practices reported are the blocking and or throttling peer-to-peer (P2P), in fixed and mobile networks, as well as blocking of voice traffic over Internet protocol (VoIP), especially in mobile networks, usually based on specific contract terms. The implementation of blocking/throttling practices in a network is usually done through deep packet inspection (DPI).
BEREC is currently in the process of validating, consolidating and categorizing the data, and intends to publish the final results during the second quarter of the current year. This European overview on Internet traffic management will also feed other work streams on the subject of network neutrality, a report on competition issues and a set of guidelines on minimum quality of service, both of which BEREC intends to publish for public consultation this summer.
To note that, over 400 operators responded to this data collection (approximately 250 fixed and 150 mobile operators) as well as consumer organizations, industry associations and some private individuals.
Further information:
- BEREC preliminary findings on traffic management practices in Europe show that blocking of VoIP and P2P traffic is common, other practices vary widely http://berec.europa.eu/doc/2012/TMI_press_release.pdf
