Internet Access Service Providers Research Articles

An Internet Service Provider’s Right of Discount Reimbursement Provided for the Customer in Case of Early Contract Termination

The paper analyses the discounts offered to consumers in the agreements of Lithuanian Internet access service providers and the legal qualification of these discounts in the practice of the Communications Regulatory Authority and courts. The article raises the question of whether such discounts are not hidden penalties.

The Role of Quality in Bit Stream Access Internet Service Providers on Customer Loyalty

The Internet Service Provider (ISP) sector in Palestine operates in a highly competitive market that presents many challenges related to Israeli rules and regulations concerning internet services. Such challenges emphasize the need for the various ISPs to have a detailed and clear understanding of the critical service quality dimensions that affect the loyalty of customers, and to constantly evaluate and strengthen the service they provide. Therefore, the aim of this work is to study the influence of service quality on customer satisfaction and loyalty in the Palestinian internet sector. The study used a quantitative approach based on the SERVQUAL dimensions to collect the data from internet subscribers through a questionnaire and the data was analyzed using statistical methods. The survey data was gathered from 403 valid responses covering more than eight ISP companies in the West Bank. An examination of the study variables based on the conceptual framework was achieved by using SPSS, where means of quantitative methods such as a comparison of means, and simple and multiple regressions were calculated. The results indicate that, in general, the level of service quality does not meet customer expectations. In addition, a descriptive analysis of the study variables indicates that the means of three service quality dimensions (reliability, responsiveness, and tangibility) have a medium degree level, while empathy and assurance have a high degree level. It is showed that service quality positively affects customer satisfaction. A positive relationship exists between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The study suggests that the effect of the “responsiveness” dimension on consumer satisfaction and loyalty is stronger than the effects of the other dimensions, with “tangibility” having the lowest effect. Finally, the study recommends to ISPs to improve the level of service quality in order to meet customers' needs and wants, and in order to gain long-term customer loyalty.

Mobile Social Service User Identification Framework Based on Action-Characteristic Data Retention

Mobile social services are an indispensable part of our daily lives. These services are also favored by criminals because it is difficult to retrieve communication data from them. In the past, communication data provided by telecommunication carriers usually indicated when, from where, and with whom the communication occurred. Presently, it is difficult for law enforcement agencies and public security departments to obtain information regarding mobile social services. For this reason, these departments have requested Internet access service providers to store data that can be used to identify the user of a mobile social service at any given time. However, many non-government and civil society organizations claim that these practices violate privacy rights; hence, they strongly oppose the retention of the subscribers’ data by the government. Currently, the European Union law does not allow “general and indiscriminate retention of traffic data and location data,” except for “targeted” use against “serious crimes.” Under this premise, ensuring the necessary data retention, while reducing the privacy violations and maintaining public security is a challenging task. In this study, a novel identification framework based on different types and action characteristics of mobile social services is proposed. Based on this framework, government agencies do not need to retain general and indiscriminate traffic data, but only data that aid in identification. Thus, this framework substantially reduces the volume of potential targets and improves the probability of correct target identification, ensuring a balance between privacy and public security.

Zero rating and end-users’ freedom of choice: an economic analysis

PurposeAccording to European Union Open Internet Regulation, commercial practices of internet access service providers (IASP) should not restrict end-users’ choice regarding services, applications or contents. This paper aims to analyze the effects of Zero Rating (ZR) on freedom of choice translating this regulatory criterion into a formal expression: providing a ZR offer on a content or application provider (CAP) restricts end-users’ choice if it reduces the volume or provision of others usages.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is made in two steps. First, the authors assess the direct effect of introducing zero rating on non-ZR usages, all other things equal. Second, the paper studies the knock-on effect of ZR on IASP offers and the supply of CAP.FindingsIn the short term, zero rating does not restrict end-users’ choice increasing both ZR and non-ZR usages. In the long term, in the case of pure ZR, IASPs may adapt their offer to support ZR costs impacting negatively other usages. However, in practice, these effects are compensated or diluted by competitive forces or if the ZR traffic is small relatively to the data allowance. In the case of SD, the CAP covers the cost which prevents cross-subsidies and protects freedom of choice if SD is open to all CAPs.Originality/valueThe economic literature on zero rating is scarce and assesses this practice from the general economic criterion of social or consumer welfare. This paper is the first one to use economic analysis to analyze whether Zero Rating is compatible with the EU regulatory criterion of freedom of choice.

On domain registries and unlawful website content

The link of lawful domain names to unlawful content is a phenomenon that has not been very topical until recently. Traditionally, domain registries have been off the radar of content-related debates. Enforcement efforts, public discourse and academic research have focused on other intermediaries such as Internet access service providers, hosting platforms, and websites that link to content. This article shows, however, that the (secondary) liability of domain registries and registrars, and more specifically country code top-level domain (ccTLD) registries for website content, has been tested in several EU Member States in recent years. The article investigates tendencies in the national lower-court jurisprudence and explores to what extent the liability exemption regime of the E-Commerce Directive applies to domain registries. The analysis concludes that whereas domain registries can be read under the exemptions in a teleological interpretation, more clarity is desirable.

Zero-rating arrangements of mobile Internet access service providers – An analysis of main factors shaping the need for regulatory interventions

Zero-rating is the practice of providers of radio-based Internet access for moving telecommunication devices of excluding traffic generated by specific online applications from usage counted towards capped allowances or strictly metered tariffs of their end customers. Worldwide and particularly in the European Union (EU), current regulatory frameworks for zero-rating arrangements (ZRA) imply that regulators have to examine on a case-by-case basis whether they prohibit a concrete ZRA or impose restrictions. Such conditions are set because regulators believe that a ZRA runs counter to the interests of end customers or application providers or impedes effective competition between application and Internet service providers. Thus, it is necessary to clarify which case features ought to be inspected in such zero-rating assessments and which feature levels speak against or in favor of regulatory measures linked to ZRA. The present article identifies nine design features of ZRA, three characteristics of customer groups targeted by such offers and three background characteristics of the markets for Internet access services and applications which are of special importance in decisions concerning the need to regulate (to abstain from regulating) zero-rating practices of mobile network operators. The analysis shows that in many instances interests of end customers, application providers as well as of politicians seeking to promote the competitive dynamics on mobile Internet access service and application markets are best served if regulatory authorities tolerate ZRA and control for potential harmful effects after their market launch. Moreover, the study reveals that empirical research on customer reactions to ZRA is urgently required.

On Domain Registries and Website Content – Shift in Intermediaries' Role in Light of Unlawful Content or Just Another Brick in the Wall?

The link of lawful domain names to unlawful content is a phenomenon that has not been very topical until recently. Traditionally, domain registries have been off the radar of content-related debates. Enforcement efforts, public discourse and academic research have focused on other intermediaries such as Internet access service providers, hosting platforms, and websites that link to content. This article shows that in recent years, however, that the (secondary) liability of domain registries and registrars, and more specifically country code top-level domain (ccTLD) registries for website content, has been tested in several EU Member States. The article investigates tendencies in the national lower-court jurisprudence and explores to what extent the liability exemption regime of the E-Commerce Directive applies to domain registries. The analysis concludes that whereas domain registries can be read under the exemptions in a teleological interpretation, more clarity is desirable.

ETHIC CYBER STRENGTHENING ASCRIMINAL LAW POLICY FORMULATIONS IN RESPONSE CYBERPORN

<p>Cyber Porn is an act of using cyberspace to create, display, distribute, publish pornography and obscene material. Cyberspace with technology that carries pornography, so that pornography provides more feature-rich form of pornography, pornografipun experienced media translation and making pornography created with multi features. The lack of regulations on the provision of criminal sanctions for internet access service providers (ISP /Internet Service Provider)are not filtering out pornographic content so that they can be accessed internet users. Cyber ethics required for casting activity that is passed by internet users. Ideal criminal Legal policy of studies necessary legal substance of law reforms in the fight against cyberporn.</p>

Zero Rating and End Users' Freedom of Choice: An Economic Analysis

According to European Union Open Internet Regulation, commercial practices of Internet access Service Providers (ISP) should not restrict end-users’ choice regarding services, applications or contents. This paper analyses the effects of Zero Rating (ZR) on freedom of choice translating this regulatory criterion into a formal expression: providing a ZR offer on a Content or Application Provider (CAP) restricts end-users’ choice if it reduces the volume or provision of others usages. The analysis is made in two steps. Firstly, we assess the direct effect of introducing zero rating on non-ZR usages, all other things equal. Secondly, the paper studies the knock-on effect of ZR on ISP offers and the supply of CAP. In the short term, zero rating does not restrict end-users’ choice increasing both ZR and non-ZR usages. In the long term, in the case of pure ZR, ISPs may adapt their offer to support ZR costs impacting negatively other usages. However, in practice, these effects are compensated or diluted by competitive forces or if the ZR traffic is small relatively to the data allowance. In the case of SD, the CAP covers the cost which prevents cross-subsidies and protects freedom of choice if SD is open to all CAPs. The economic literature on zero rating is scarce and assesses this practice from the general economic criterion of social or consumer welfare. Our paper is the first one to use economic analysis to analyze whether Zero Rating is compatible with the EU regulatory criterion of freedom of choice.

SDN Orchestration for Next Generation Inter-Networking: A Multipath Forwarding Approach

Increasing trend of peering at Internet exchange points (IXPs) provides a topological and network management advantage to the Internet service providers (ISPs) that is otherwise not possible through individual peering arrangements with their neighboring domains. ISPs keep analyzing potential advantages to peer at geographically diversified IXPs. Increasing degree of multihoming in ISPs requires extensive coordination among ISPs in different roles (access and transit), for mutual benefit. We propose a novel approach to build a conducive inter-networking ambiance for future data centric applications. Our approach exploits edge multiplicity of transit ISPs present across different IXPs to leverage a cross layer coordination between network stack at access ISP subscribers and the network infrastructure. Software defined networking provides a useful apparatus to control IXP fabric and also empowers our multipath forwarding strategy for an optimal network resource utilization in the inter-domain configuration. Contributions of this paper include the derivation of abstracted overlay graph from an IXP centric inter-domain connectivity model. This graph is used to provide multipath forwarding for increased reliability and throughput over abstracted graph. Adaptive cross layer coordination increases the efficiency of the proposed framework and provides an online mechanism of forwarding the traffic across the domains. We have observed as high as 54% increase in throughput using proposed scheme as compared with single path routing and forwarding strategy currently employed at the Internet backbone.

Subsidization Competition: Vitalizing the Neutral Internet

Unlike telephone operators, which pay termination fees to reach the users of another network, Internet content providers (CPs) do not pay the Internet service providers (ISPs) of users they reach. While the consequent cross subsidization to CPs has nurtured content innovations at the edge of the Internet, it reduces the investment incentives for the access ISPs to expand capacity. As potential charges for terminating CPs' traffic are criticized under the net neutrality debate, we propose to allow CPs to voluntarily subsidize the usage-based fees induced by their content traffic for end-users. We model the regulated subsidization competition among the CPs under a neutral network and show how deregulation of subsidization could increase an access ISP's utilization and revenue, strengthening its investment incentives. Our results suggest that subsidization competition will increase the competitiveness and welfare of the Internet content market. However, regulators might need to: 1) regulate access prices if the access ISP market is not competitive enough; and 2) regulate subsidies if network is highly congested. We envision that subsidization competition could become a viable net-neutral model for the future Internet.

Service Acquisition for Mobile Users in Future Internet

Mobility offers a great deal of advantages. However, mobile users are currently restricted by the network coverage of providers, their access network technologies and the networking capabilities of mobile devices. Moreover, mobile users have to be involved in time consuming and inflexible manual interactions with internet access service providers in order to sign long term contracts. In this paper, a novel framework, which liberates mobile users from predefined, long-term contracts, is presented. This framework enables mobile users to dynamically acquire any kind of Internet Service, irrespectively of their location and the mobile device used. This is based on the automation of the service acquisition process and the collaboration of providers that is required to satisfy end-users' requests. The flexible communication and negotiation framework that was defined enables automated negotiations between all parties and can be used as basis towards automated service acquisition for mobile users in future internet.

Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. - Comments of Professor Brett M. Frischmann

In this brief comment, filed on April 12, 2010 in the FCC Open Internet proceeding (GN Docket No. 09-191), I make two points: First, I argue that the FCC must resist falling into the rhetorical trap set by many participants in the debate who attempt to frame the policy debate narrowly in terms of antitrust and regulatory economics. A myopic focus on antitrust and regulatory economics misses other important dimensions at stake in the debate. Essentially, this perspective views the Internet as a mere supply chain of markets. It fails to appreciate that the Internet is a mixed commercial, public, and social infrastructure that supports an incredible variety of market and nonmarket systems and user activities that yield private, public, and social goods. Too many participants in the debate (on both sides) accept the premise that competition would alleviate concerns about discrimination or prioritization by network providers. It would not, as I discuss.Second, I offer a particular nondiscrimination rule that differs somewhat from the one articulated by the Commission in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The FCC should prohibit broadband Internet access service providers from discriminating based on the identity of the user or use in the handling of packets. Under this approach, user may be defined as sender or receiver; use may be defined as application or content type; handling may be defined as all transport and related services associated with delivery of packets. This simple nondiscrimination rule may seem overly strong in that it appears to rule out a significant range of activities that some might label “reasonable network management.” But as I discuss, this rule is not overly restrictive; rather, it strikes an appropriate balance. It primarily rules out certain fine-grained forms of price or quality discrimination, does not rule out other forms of price discrimination that are not based on user/use identity, such as typical second-degree price discrimination, and does not rule out efficient methods for managing congestion, such as traditional usage-sensitive or congestion pricing. This rule maintains a general-purpose, mixed infrastructure and best preserves the Internet’s openness.

Regulatory Reality versus Theory

Professor Eli Noam has written a thoughtful piece for the Financial Times entitled Separating telecoms? about the spectre of forced separation of network infrastructure management from service provisioning that is haunting European incumbent telecommunications companies. Noam suggests that European regulators seek negotiated compacts, rather than address the discrimination problem (indirectly) through the imposition of various degrees of functional, structural or full separation (divestiture) of the operations of telecommunications companies or (directly) through additional regulation or legislation. In contrast, a recent publication by Free Press, entitled Dismantling Digital Deregulation: Towards a National Broadband Strategy, cites deregulation as the root of America's broadband decline. Free Press essentially calls for the reversal of nearly every de-regulatory decision made by the FCC since 1996 and the imposition or re-imposition of pervasive telecommunications regulation, without regard for the costs of such a radical reversal of policy. Professor Noam's suggestions about how to strike a grand regulatory compromise on structural separations deserve serious study and consideration by America's regulators. They may also provide a template for discussion about how to resolve the highly polarized and seemingly never-ending debate over whether we need to impose common carrier or net neutrality mandates on broadband Internet access service providers.

An empirical study of adoptors and non-adopters of the Internet in Singapore

The Internet has been given a great deal of attention around the world and the number of host computers and users on the Internet has been increasing approximately at an exponential rate. However, despite this rapid growth, there are relatively few empirical studies on the Internet. This paper reports on a questionnaire survey of both adopters and non-adopters of the Internet among organizations in Singapore. The organizational characteristics, benefits of adopting the Internet, reasons for not adopting the Internet, criteria for selecting Internet access service providers, etc. were examined, thereby contributing to a better understanding of the Internet phenomenon in Singapore.

Factors Influencing the Adoption of the Internet

:The Internet has been given tremendous publicity in recent years. However, most research focuses on Europe or America rather on than Asian countries. This study hopes to contribute to a better understanding of the Internet phenomenon in Asia by examining the factors influencing the adoption and nonadoption of the Internet among organizations in Singapore. A survey was carried out among business firms to examine the benefits of adopting the Internet, reasons for not adopting the Internet, and the criteria for selecting Internet access service providers. The results showed that key benefits are derived from the global nature of the Internet, which enables access to worldwide information and the creation of a worldwide electronic presence. Nonadopters of the Internet are concerned about whether staff will waste time surfing the Internet. Both access speed and technical support are viewed as important criteria in selecting an Internet access service provider (IASP). Implications of the results are discussed.

Net access-divvying up the pie [Copyright and the Internet

Looks at efforts now under way to resolve the issue of copyright infringement liability for on-line Internet access service providers. First, the Administration's Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF) released a White Paper report recommending that present liability for copyright infringement be kept in place for Internet purposes, without change, because that would give Net access service providers an incentive to prevent and avoid infringement. Congress then introduced two bills, implementing the IITF proposals. These bills simply provided, as the IITF had recommended, that unauthorized transmission of copyrighted material between computers or over the Net was "distribution" and thus copyright infringement. The author looks at the ensuing uproar, and its resolution.