British ISPs such as BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk may already restrict access to some websites at peak times while favouring others, it has been revealed by UK regulator Ofcom.
During peak Internet traffic periods UK Network providers are able to control access to data-heavy websites such as multi-player role-playing games, video-players and download sites to manage traffic on their networks.
Ofcom is concerned that the practice is becoming more common and maybe used to control or block access competitors’ services or to charge customers for guaranteed bandwidth.
Ofcom Chief Executive Ed Richards said although the British market, with six or seven wholesale providers and dozens of retail providers, was more competitive than the United States, net neutrality had been on the regulator’s radar for some time.
Ofcom hopes to make traffic management by the large ISPs transparent and make the details published for anyone to see.
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