Virgin Media O2 calls for weaker net neutrality rules
Key Points
- Virgin Media O2 is urging the UK government weaken net neutrality rules that it says are stifling innovation and growth.
- Net neutrality legislation was introduced to protect customers and prevent operators from throttling certain types of Internet traffic.
- Virgin Media O2 has commissioned a report which argues for these rules to be reformed so that it can take full advantage of new 5G technology and prioritise crucial traffic.
- Ofcom has previously issued guidance for operators on net neutrality which provides space for specialised, zero-rated, and premium-quality services.
Virgin Media O2 has called on the government to weaken net neutrality rules, which require telecoms providers to treat all traffic equally.
The rules were introduced to protect customers, preventing telecoms providers from throttling certain types of traffic and prioritising some services over others.
Virgin Media O2 has argued that this legislation was designed for a different era and has become outdated. It has commissioned a report which finds that net neutrality rules are preventing operators from launching new services and investing in mobile networks.
The report argues that if net neutrality rules are not weakened, customers would not be able to access the full benefits of 5G and innovative new services. It also states that if operators are required to treat all traffic equally, this could lead to worse quality services for customers in future.
It said that when networks are congested, mobile operators are unable to effectively prioritise traffic, which could both impact the customer experience and hold back innovation for data-heavy AI use cases.
The report cites the example of an electrician discussing a fault on a video call with a customer while also running an agentic AI in the background. It says that under the current net neutrality rules, operators are unable to prioritise the video call over the AI traffic, damaging the customer experience.
Another scenario identified in the report where mobile operators could benefit from relaxed net neutrality rules is in providing prioritised traffic for business customers. For example, a mobile provider could use 5G network slicing to ensure that even under congested network conditions, traffic from payment terminals could be processed without delay.
“Outdated net neutrality rules limit innovation and hold back the full benefits of the infrastructure we’re building,” said Virgin Media O2 CEO Lutz Schüler.
“We’re not able to help customers by prioritising taxi and map apps when travelling home at night and can’t prioritise payment apps for sole traders in crowded markets. No one is winning.”
“To unleash private sector investment, improve consumer and business services, and deliver the UK’s 5G ambition, government should use its mobile market review to remove these antiquated roadblocks to innovation so we can bring about better connectivity and services for all,” he said.
Over Ofcom and straight to government
Citing the data in this report, Virgin Media O2 is pushing for the government to reform net neutrality legislation directly, as opposed to lobbying the regulator for new guidance.
Ofcom, the UK’s digital communications regulator, has previously addressed the constraints of the net neutrality legislation.
The watchdog issued guidance in 2023 which aimed to preserve the consumer protections of net neutrality rules while also allowing operators to prioritise certain types of traffic to provide a better customer experience.
The guidance explicitly allows for ISPs to offer premium-quality retail offers with features such as low latency, and to develop specialised services for applications that need connections to be optimised.
In its guidance, Ofcom specifically cited how 5G networks can be used under current net neutrality rules to deliver specialised services for driverless vehicles, real-time communications, and virtual reality applications.
The guidance also attempted to set out how the net neutrality framework applied to the main applications for 5G network slicing on a case-by-case basis.
It said that services specialised for specific business and industrial applications fall outside the scope of the framework, that services optimised for quality requirements should not be delivered to the detriment of general Internet access, and premium Internet services must comply with rules related to the equal treatment of traffic.
The guidance by Ofcom is not comprehensive, and as standalone 5G rollout progresses, it is clear that operators such as Virgin Media O2 are looking for more freedom to prioritise traffic and make full use of technologies like 5G slicing.
