[discuss] African take on Net Neutrality

Wed May 14 19:23:03 UTC 2014

+1 Carlos AA.

The kind of scenarios I am used to from this part of the world are as
follows (to name just two main of them.)

1) The provider (solely a mobile network) offers different packages at a
flat rate depending on different data caps, but speed remains the same. For
instance, one can choose to subscribe to 10 Gb over a 30 day period, which
are provided at the speed of 8 Mbps (like all the other packages.) In that
case when the customer reaches exhausts the 10 Gb (presumably of data
transmission due to her use of internet services), the traffic is not
blocked but gets slower. Concretely, they claim you can still get your
email without a problem but web pages will take notably longer to download.

Other packages include 3, 50 and 150 Gb. All of them are valid over 30
days. Because there's no blocking and one may still use internet services
beyond those caps, they say those packages are all unlimited.

2) The provider (legacy fixed phone plus mobile network operator) offers an
unlimited "high-speed" connectivity at a flat monthly rate. The general
perception, in my view, being that such high-speed is a little slower than
the competitor's 8Mbps.

Now I'm not sure price differentiation based on caps on the data volume to
be transmitted at a given speed (the same across the board, by the way)
over a given period of time, all of which is contractually agreed upon
upfront (scenario 1 above), is a NN issue. But I'm ready to listen to
anyone who thinks and can show otherwise.

Mawaki

=====================================
Mawaki Chango, PhD
Founder and Owner
DIGILEXIS

m.chango at digilexis.com | http://www.digilexis.com
Twitter: @digilexis | @dig_mawaki | Skype: digilexis
======================================

On Wed, May 14, 2014 at 1:40 PM, Carlos A. Afonso <ca at cafonso.ca> wrote:

> I would rephrase, Milton:
>
> "Any definition of net neutrality which makes it impossible to charge
> users who contract more data transmission capacity higher fees than
> people who contract less data transmission capacity is a reduction to
> the absurd of the whole idea. It's like saying a 3Gbps fiber link should
> be leased for the same monthly rate as a T1."
>
> I would drop the comparison with kWh, since it is a measure of energy
> flow, not of capacity (or available power, if you will).
>
> Contracts with data caps (equivalent to contracts with a cap on
> accumulated energy usage, to use your comparison, in which the electric
> company charges you more per additional kWh if you go beyond a monthly
> cap) exist for any capacity and we should strive to abolish data caps.
>
> [] fraterno
>
> --c.a.
>
> On 05/14/2014 10:12 AM, Milton L Mueller wrote:
> > Any definition of net neutrality which makes it impossible to charge
> users who use more data higher fees than people who use less data is a
> reduction to the absurd of the whole idea. It's like saying a 3Gb fiber
> link should be leased for the same monthly rate as a T1, or that charging
> electrical power by the kwh is unfair.
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: discuss-bounces at 1net.org [mailto:discuss-bounces at 1net.org] On
> Behalf Of Jay Daley
> > Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 9:01 PM
> > To: Chip Sharp (chsharp)
> > Cc: 1Net List
> > Subject: Re: [discuss] African take on Net Neutrality
> >
> > Hi Chris
> >
> > On 14/05/2014, at 12:52 pm, Chip Sharp (chsharp) <chsharp at cisco.com>
> wrote:
> >
> >> Now is being proposed the idea that Net Neutrality includes business
> relationships that don't require direct manipulation of data flow in the
> network.  Zero rating is one example of this, but not the only one.
> >>
> >> Is this is really a Net Neutrality issue or is it an example of an
> innovative business offering?
> >
> > In countries where data caps are common this is often seen as a net
> neutrality issue.
> >
> > At a technical level the traffic is actually treated differently if the
> data cap is exceeded, when it will not be subject to the same sanctions
> applied to non-zero-rated traffic, which is commonly to rate limit or to
> block entirely.
> >
> > regards
> > Jay
> >
> >>
> >> My view is that we still need flexibility to allow for innovation in
> business practices of ISPs *and* edge providers.
> >>
> >> Chip
> >>
> >>
> >> On May 13, 2014, at 6:48 AM, Anriette Esterhuysen <anriette at apc.org>
> wrote:
> >>
> >>> This is an interesting read on network neutrality from an African
> internet perspective.  I would summarise it as saying the principle is
> critical. How regulators apply it has to be sensitive to local contexts.
> The writer is Steve Song.
> >>>
> >>> http://manypossibilities.net/2014/05/net-neutrality-in-africa/
> >>>
> >>> Anriette
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>> ------------------------------------------------------
> >>> anriette esterhuysen
> >>> anriette at apc.org
> >>>
> >>> executive director, association for progressive communications
> >>>
> >>> www.apc.org
> >>>
> >>> po box 29755, melville 2109
> >>> south africa
> >>> tel/fax +27 11 726 1692
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> discuss mailing list
> >>> discuss at 1net.org
> >>> http://1net-mail.1net.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ** I am employed by Cisco Systems, Inc, but these comments reflect my
> own opinion and not any position of Cisco. **
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >
> >
>
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