WATCH VIDEO. An interview with Telenet CEO John Porter with business news channel Kanaal Z has caused an uproar in Belgium over the operator’s intentions regarding ‘net neutrality’.
In the interview, which was ostensibly about Telenet’s investment in the new gigabit network, Porter said that it looked like a good idea to him if parties that generate a lot of traffic on the network also contribute to the costs. This could hint that the operator would seek payments from the likes of Netflix, which would be in conflict with net neutrality.
The interview with Mr Porter can be viewed in the video below – which is mainly in Dutch, but the quotes are in English with Dutch subtitles.
Within a few hours, a number of websites reacted to Porter’s statement and Telenet has now said that this will not be the case; “In the framework of net neutrality Telenet handles all ‘content’ via the internet in a similar manner. We also operate a transparent network, published on our website, to our internet customers that makes it possible to give customers the speed and volume to which he is entitled.”
Telenet also said in its statement that it will not react to speculation about Netflix “because it is not yet present on the Belgian market.”
Telenet has also started to use a new logo – a new version of the old smiley – with a broader smile.
