European Parliament votes to protect net neutrality

The European Parliament has backed new telecom legislation reform in Europe that aims to enforce net neutrality rules and end roaming charges starting in late 2015 in the 28 countries that are members of the European Union. “This vote is the EU delivering for citizens,” European commissioner for digital affairs Neelie Kroes said. 

The European Parliament voted to end mobile phone roaming fees by 2016 and barred telecoms operators from prioritizing some Internet traffic over others, moves that will cheer Europe’s consumers and frustrate industry seeking new forms of revenue. In a session in Brussels, lawmakers backed telecom reform legislation that will phase out roaming fees across the 28-country European Union by December 2015, bolster consumer protections on mobile and broadband contracts and seek to make the sale of mobile licenses more uniform across Europe. The aim of the reform is to foster a so-called “single market” for telecom services across the region, while spurring big operators like France’s Orange and Britain’s Vodafone to invest more in networks.