International Journal of Innovative Research in Engineering & Management (IJIREM) ISSN: 2350-0557, Volume-3, Issue-2, March-2016 Copyright © 2016. Innovative Research Publications. All Rights Reserved 80 Understanding the Net Neutrality Debate Kamal EL AGUEZ Information Technologies Economics and Management Department, INPT Institute Rabat, Morocco elaguez.kamal@gmail.com Nasr HAJJI Hafid BARKA Information Technologies Economics and Management Department, INPT Institute Rabat, Morocco barka@inpt.ac.ma ABSTRACT This paper will serve as an introduction to the concept of net neutrality and as a note to highlight the recent growing interest on this issue. We show that the standard principles organizing the functioning of the Internet, since its invention, are the main roots of neutrality that guarantee competition and innovation. Different perspectives in the net neutrality debate are discussed taking into account the changing uses and the growing traffic. Moreover, the key principles for policy decisions are identified and it is explained how regulation can preserve neutrality while allowing the commercialization of services and applications that are latency sensitive and bandwidth consuming. Keywords Net neutrality; Internet; Regulation; Debate. 1. INRODUCTION Nowadays, the concept of net neutrality receives a widespread attention from different Internet stakeholders. The core problem of net neutrality is the following: the Internet is, by design, based on standardized protocols that treat all data packets equally; any attempt to prioritize a certain type of data, for non-technical motives, is considered as a violation of the neutrality principles. Around the world, many ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and even national regulatory authorities are blocking VoIP services and some Websites content, such as Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, Kuwait, etc. Nevertheless, several countries have already put in place the regulatory framework that ensures a proper application of the net neutrality principles. In Morocco, the three telecom operators recently blocked several VoIP services such as Whatsapp, Viber and Skype; this decision is considered illegal and against net neutrality. The Moroccan regulator did however condone these infringements, despite its legal obligation to preserve net neutrality, which stated in the General Guidance Note of the Telecommunications Sector 2018. On January 7th, 2016, the National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ANRT) issued a statement justifying the blocking (observed since late December) of VoIP applications that allow free calls via 3G (Third Generation) and 4G networks. ANRT gives the following clarifications [1]:  The establishment and operation of public telecommunications networks and the provision of public telephony services are subject to licensing, under Article 2 of the law on postal and telecommunications No. 24-96;  The delivery of all telephone traffic to the end customer can be ensured by public telecommunications network operators, under the conditions set by the specifications of the licenses for which they are beneficiaries;  The commercial exploitation and use of IP for the provision of telecommunications services are governed by the decision of the ANRT on the status of IP telephony No. 04- 04 published in April 6th, 2004. Net neutrality is a trending term in telecommunications that is very difficult to precisely define and cause an intense debate between two perspectives on the issue. Almost all definitions of net neutrality are based on principles that were established by Professor Tim Wu [2]:  Net neutrality is a principle which guarantees equal treatment of all Internet data flows;  Net neutrality also prohibits all aspects of discrimination, should it be on the grounds of the source, destination or content of the traffic transmitted on the network. These principles, organizing the neutral functioning of the Internet since its invention, have contributed to make it a platform for innovation, economic development and freedom of speech. However, in recent years, low benefit margins and the increase of the traffic transiting on the network have prompted the operators to question these principles and defend some new practices that are against net neutrality. The net neutrality debate takes several aspects: technical, economic and legal. Therefore, in this paper, we will discuss technologies and basic principles of the Internet while exposing the net neutrality debate and the regulatory approaches applied. 2. NET NEUTRALITY AND TECHNOLOGIES Internet was originally a military network called ARPANET whose functioning was mainly based on the NCP protocol (Network Control Program is a peer-to-peer communication protocol used for data transfer via the ARPANET). Because the latter does not support communication with machines outside the ARPANET, particularly when they use a different technology, Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf Elliot, two network engineering researcher, created a new communication protocol (TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol is the set of protocols used for data transfer over the Internet) which will be Internet’s standard protocol afterwards. The TCP/IP model can be described as a network architecture that consists of four layers: network access layer, Internet layer, transport layer and application layer. This communication model has gradually evolved to replace the OSI model (Open Systems Interconnection) that is still used for historical and academic purposes. Information Technologies Economics and Management Department, INPT Institute Rabat, Morocco hajji@inpt.ac.ma