Response to ARCEP consultation on an API to measure fixed internet QoS

DIGITALEUROPE welcomes the opportunity to respond to ARCEP’s draft decision on an API to be installed in operators’ boxes to improve ARCEP’s abilityto measure fixed-internet quality of service (QoS).

The solution put forward by ARCEP, which mandates direct, physical access to consumerdata, is in DIGITALEUROPE’s view disproportionate to the objectives of the decision andcould undermine the development of more harmonised solutions at EU level.

In our response to the consultation, we’d like to point to some key aspects that require clarification from ARCEP, notably:

• What types of providers and offers are included;
• What safeguards should be incorporated to protect user’s privacy and personaldata;
• The decision’s potential to impact the free movement of terminal equipment; and
• The inclusion of existing standards for QoS parameters, definitions and measurement methods.

Pertinence of the solution provided

DIGITALEUROPE welcomes the goal of gathering robust QoS data in order to ensure theregulatory framework’s correct implementation.

The solution offered, however, by mandating direct, physical access to consumer data by a regulator, is in our view disproportionate to the objectives of the decision. Its highly intrusive nature raises important questions of scope, safeguards and market access which have not been sufficiently substantiated, as explained in further detail in the sections below.

Such specific national solution could undermine more harmonised solutions at EU level, which would avoid inefficiencies for operators that will ultimately be compensated by consumers. As there are many different approaches across Europe when it comes to QoS for broadband networks, DIGITALEUROPE recommends a general EU approach to collecting the relevant data.

More worryingly, the proposed solution is also likely to encourage similar physical solutions outside of Europe, in markets which may not have the same democratic safeguards.