Hup Holland Hup! Dutch Lawmakers adopt Net Neutrality Law.

Juni 22nd, 2011 • Politics
Tags: Amsterdam, net neutrality, Netherlands, People, Politics, World

One of many reason why I love to live in the Netherlands. The Dutch Parliament has just made a groundbreaking decision:

The Netherlands on Wednesday became the first country in Europe, and only the second in the world, to enshrine the concept of network neutrality into national law by banning its mobile operators from blocking or charging consumers extra for using Internet-based communications services like Skype or WhatsApp, a free text service.

The measure, which was adopted with a broad majority by the lower house of the Dutch Parliament, the Tweede Kamer, will prevent KPN, the Dutch market leader, and the Dutch units of Vodafone and T-mobile, from blocking or charging for Internet services. Its sponsors said that the measure would pass a legal review in the Dutch Senate without hitches.

Analysts said that the legal restrictions imposed in the Netherlands could shape Europe’s broader, evolving debate over network neutrality, pushing more countries on the Continent to limit operators from acting as self-appointed toll collectors of the mobile Internet.

“I could also see some countries following the Dutch example,” said Jacques de Greling, an analyst at Natixis, a French bank. “I believe there will be pressure from consumers to make it clear what they are buying, whether it is the full Internet or Internet-light.”

Advocates hailed the move as a victory for consumers, while industry officials predicted that mobile broadband charges could rise in the Netherlands to compensate for the new restrictions.

“We support network neutrality,” said Sandra de Jong, a spokeswoman for Consumentenbond, the largest Dutch consumer organization, based in Den Haag. “We don’t think operators should be able to restrict the Internet. That would be a bad precedent.”

Luigi Gambardella, the executive board chairman of the Brussels-based industry group, the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association, warned that the Dutch legislation could deter operators from making needed investments in high-speed networks for fear of building expensive but unprofitable infrastructure.

“Any additional regulation should avoid deterring investment or innovative business models, leading to a more efficient use of the networks and to creating new business opportunities,” Mr. Gambardella said. He said operators needed the ability to charge different tariffs for different levels of service, to recoup the costs of data-intensive applications.

(More on New York Times)

google. A not so evil look back on its History.

August 9th, 2010 • Brands
Tags: Business, google, history, net neutrality, Presentation, Truth, visual, World

google sure does combine many elements of a modern tech fairy tale. It is extremely successful (please, don’t mention social networks now), it did not exist 15 years ago and started with a very philanthropic vision…at least they tried. While the company still pretends to stick to its ‘Don’t be evil‘ mantra, others call it ‘a company on steroids with fingers in every industry’. The glass is always half full or half empty, right?

Google UK has now staged a (very) quick look back at the its history over the last 11 years. From Stanford to Mountain View and around the world, featuring many different products, starting with BackRub (Search) up to Google Wave, StreetView and Chrome. Enjoy the cute little animations and in case you are keener on a more critical view of the brand, try the Beast File. (via)