The operation of Internet was based on the separation of three levels of functions of the network:

• the physical network,
• the logic network where the communications are established and their ensured interworking,
• the applications and the services.

Where the previous model of the digital communication networks, was the centralization of operation and services management, the Internet allows a large variety of applications and services to be operated at the edge / termination of the network. This mode of services operation allowed the development of economic models in which the use of the network and offering of services could be financed by the players at the edge of the network: typically according to the model of the bi-sided market by a combination between consumers, services providers and advertisers.

The development of Internet, and especially the need for financing the deployment of new infrastructures, raises the question to really know who pays for what, and to whom? The operators of infrastructure, in particular, intend to get enough revenues from the whole Internet economy to finance the deployment and operation of their infrastructure used in any case to deliver the services. The situation becomes critical when :

• on the one hand, the network comes to saturation and it is necessary to adapt the whole economy to the optimization of the use of the network and with the jump of required investment for the traffic flow in strong growth and,
• on the other hand, the modes of use of the network are very differentiated, according to the necessary speed (from email to video), quality of service, security level of the transmission?

The network operators argue for a new tariffing model for the use of the Net, which takes into account of the differentiated modes of use of the network. On their side, big players of the Internet (Google, Yahoo! Microsoft,?) consider that a rupture in ?the neutrality? of current tariffing model would be contrary with the basic principles of operation of the Net, in particular the freedom of access and use. The new tariffing models would raise the barrier of entry for innovating new entrants. Such a rupture, ?would give again the hand? to the network operators, when the Internet was initially a ?network of network? without centralized control, and which could moreover favour their own offers services.

The regulators have been asked to intervene. Wouldn’t the network operators be in a position to abuse of their market power, arguing constraints of network management? These debates put the regulators and law-makers in a dilemma: certain types of discrimination are considered as beneficial consumer welfare when others reveal anti-competitive practices. Does one need ex ante regulation to preserve the current operation of the Net, or ex post regulation constitutes the best answer to a complex regulation?

The debate was born in the US as from 2003 (Tim Woo) where certain examples of discrimination or proposal for a discrimination were denounced as abusive (Madison River Telephone blocking the access of its network to the VoIP services of Vonage, Verizon prohibiting its Boadband customers to use this service to connect a server,?). The decision of the Supreme Court in 2005 to authorize the companies of cable to propose an access differentiated to their infrastructure really made emerge the debate.

In Europe, the debate is less intense and one considers until today that the Net neutrality is not a regulatory question. In November 2007, the Commission proposals on the services and electronic communications authorized the discrimination of the products in so far as the conditions of the competition are observed.

To contribute to the comprehension of this debate, the Innovation and Regulation Chair organized on May 29, 2007 a seminar on “Net Neutrality” which brought together American and European experts.

Intervening during a meeting organized by the Chair on December 13th, 2008, Nicholas Economides, completed the understanding of the Net Neutrality debate by a two-sided market analysis of the Internet.

EventsÉvénements

• 7^th conference on Economics of Information and Communication Technologies

  From January 24, 2014 to January 25, 2014
• Network Neutrality: American and European perspectives

  On May 29, 2007

Publications

• Asymmetric Neutrality Regulation and Innovation at the Edges: Fixed vs. Mobile Networks

  30 janvier 2014 .

  Jay Pil Choy (New South Wales Univ.), Doh-Shin Jeon (Toulouse School of Economics), Byung-Cheol Kim (Georgia Institute of Technology)

  Conference on Economics of Information and communication technologies. Paris, January 24-25, 2014

• Net Neutrality and Inflation of Traffic

  30 janvier 2014 .

  Martin Peitz (University of Mannheim), Florian Schuett (Tilburg University)

  Presentation at the conference organized by the Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair on Economics of Information and communication technologies. Paris, January 24-25, 2014

• Net Neutrality, Foreclosure and the Fast Lane: An empirical study of the UK
  22 octobre 2012 .
  Laura Nurski, University of Leuven and Ph.D. Fellow of the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO)

  Presentation at the conference of the  Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, Oct. 2012, in on « Economics of ICTs».
• The interplay between network investment and content quality in the Internet
  21 octobre 2012 .
  Edmond Baranes, University Montpellier 1, France

  Presentation at the conference of the  Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, Oct. 2012, in on « Economics of ICTs».

• Internet Interconnection and Network Neutrality

  21 octobre 2012 .

  Jay Pil Choi, School of Economics, Univ. of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia and Dep. of Economics, Michigan State Univ., USA, Doh-Shin Jeon, Toulouse School of Economics and CEPR, France, Byung-Cheol Kim, School of Economics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA. Conference on Oct. 2012 on “Economics of ICTs”.

• Congestion Pricing and Net Neutrality
  21 octobre 2012 .
  Bruno Jullien, Toulouse School of Economics (GREMAQ-CNRS and IDEI, Wilfried Sand-Zantman, Toulouse School of Economics (GREMAQ and IDEI) and Université de Toulouse

  Presentation at the conference of the  Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, Oct. 2012, in on « Economics of ICTs».

• Net Neutrality with Competing Internet Platforms

  1 mai 2012 .
  Marc Bourreau, Telecom ParisTech, Department of Economics and Social Sciences, and CREST-LE, France, Frago Kourandi, Telecom ParisTech, Department of Economics and Social Science, France, Tommaso Valletti, Imperial College London, Telecom ParisTech and CEPR

• Net neutrality and innovation at the core and at the edge

  1 avril 2012 .
  Carlo Reggiani, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester, UK, Tommaso Valletti, Imperial College London, University of Rome, Telecom ParisTech and CEPR
• Net Neutrality, Boon or Bane for Free File Sharing Service?
  15 octobre 2011 .
  Tong Wang, Toulouse School of Economics

  Presentation at the conference organized by the Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, September 30-October 1st, 2011, on « Economics of Information and Communication Technologies »

• La régulation des relations fournisseurs-distributeurs dans le commerce de détail en France
  9 février 2009 .
  Maya Bacache, Telecom ParisTech

  Position paper prepared in the framework of the conference organized by the Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, Paris, February 2 , 2009, on « Producers and distributors: can regulation of retail help for better regulation of the Internet »
• Bargaining, power and the net neutrality problem
  9 février 2009 .
  Claudia Saavedra, Ecole Polytechnique

  Presentation at the conference organized by the Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, Paris, February 2 , 2009, on « Producers and distributors: can regulation of retail help for better regulation of the Internet ».

• The FCC‟s Comcast net neutrality decision: convergence with Europe?
  9 février 2009 .
  Winston Maxwell, Partner Hogan & Hartson MNP, David Sieradzki, Hogan & Hartson LLP

  Presentation at the conference organized by the Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, Paris, February 2 , 2009, on « Producers and distributors: can regulation of retail help for better regulation of the Internet ».
• Net Neutrality on the Internet: A Two-sided Market Analysis
  11 décembre 2008 .
  Nicholas Economides, Stern School of Business, New York University, and NET Institute, Joacim Tag, Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration

  Presentation at the workshop organized by the Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, Paris, December 8, 2008, on « Innovation & regulation in ICTs »
• Efficiency of Public Promotion Policies and Broadband Diffusion. A Net Neutrality Perspective
  11 novembre 2008 .
  Francesc Miralles, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain

  Presentation at the conference organized by the Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, Paris, October 16 and 17, 2008, on « Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic growth »
• European prospective on net neutrality
  6 juin 2007 .
  Sébastien Soriano, ARCEP, FR

  Presentation at the conference organized by the Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, in Paris, May 29, 2007, on « Network Neutrality :American and European Perspectives »
• Net neutrality : an issue in Europe and France ?
  6 juin 2007 .
  Marc Lebourges, Orange Group

  Presentation at the conference organized by the Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, in Paris, May 29, 2007, on « Network Neutrality :American and European Perspectives »
• Net Neutrality – A Network Operator’s Perspective
  6 juin 2007 .
  Roland Doll, Deutsche Telekom, Germany

  Presentation at the conference organized by the Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, in Paris, May 29, 2007, on « Network Neutrality :American and European Perspectives »
• Network Neutrality and Prioritization
  6 juin 2007 .
  John McCarthy, Level 3 Communications

  Presentation at the conference organized by the Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, in Paris, May 29, 2007, on « Network Neutrality :American and European Perspectives »
•  What is the full cost of net neutrality?
  6 juin 2007 .
  Richard N. Clarke, Regulatory Planning and Policy, AT&T

  Presentation at the conference organized by the Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, in Paris, May 29, 2007, on « Network Neutrality :American and European Perspectives »
• No share of the Internet is neutral
  6 juin 2007 .
  Robert Briscoe, BT Laboratories, UK

  Presentation at the conference organized by the Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, in Paris, May 29, 2007, on « Network Neutrality :American and European Perspectives »
• Network Neutrality and Consumer Welfare?
  6 juin 2007 .
  J. Gregory Sidak, Georgetown University Law Center, US

  Presentation at the conference organized by the Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, in Paris, May 29, 2007, on « Network Neutrality :American and European Perspectives »
• Net Neutrality: Unbundling or do nothing?
  6 juin 2007 .
  Tim Wu, Columbia University, NYC,US

  Presentation at the conference organized by the Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, in Paris, May 29, 2007, on « Network Neutrality :American and European Perspectives »
• What is the Network Neutrality Debate About?
  6 juin 2007 .
  Marvin Sirbu, Carnegie Mellon University and ENST

  Presentation at the conference organized by the Innovation & Regulation in Digital Services Chair, in Paris, May 29, 2007, on « Network Neutrality :American and European Perspectives »