U.K. mobile operators EE, O2, Three and Vodafone teamed up with the Information Commissioner’s Office to fight spam text messages, the GSM Association said Thursday. They're using GSMA’s spam reporting service, which provides a worldwide clearinghouse of messaging threats and misuses, the association said. The service lets operators analyze spam attack patterns, and identify and shut down their sources, it said. Mobile users in Britain can report nuisance text messages by sending “7726” and “SPAM” to their service providers. Operators can share intelligence about spam attacks in real time, GSMA said. As a next step, the operators and ICO are considering ways to broaden the reporting service to address nuisance calls, it said. The Digital Marketing Association applauded the initiative, saying text spam and nuisance calls annoy millions of people and hurt the legitimate mobile marketing industry.

Net neutrality provisions green-lighted Tuesday by the European Parliament Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) Committee are better than those proposed by the European Commission (CD Sept 12 p5), but still contain “dangerous loopholes,” said French citizens’ advocacy group La Quadrature du Net. The provisions are part of a broad “connected continent” reform package aimed at creating an EU single telecom market. ITRE’s response to the EC proposal inserted strict rules to prevent telcos from degrading or blocking Internet connections to rivals’ services and applications, the committee said. Companies will still be able to offer specialized services of higher quality, such as VOD and business-critical, data-intensive cloud applications, as long as they don’t interfere with Internet speeds promised to other customers, ITRE said. Blocking or slowing the Internet would be allowed only in exceptional cases such as when specifically ordered by a court, it said. But La Quadrature Legal and Policy Analyst Miriam Artino said the vote “is a sign of the massive lobbying influence of big telecom operators.” The loopholes involve discrimination, the Internet’s open character and the definition of specialized services, wrote telecom consultant Innocenzo Genna on his blog (http://bit.ly/PLVEvZ). Genna said his clients include new entrants such as mobile virtual network operators, small ISPs and other non-incumbents. Under the ITRE version, telcos can still discriminate against online services by simply charging or differentiating the price of connectivity to favor one service over another, he said. That issue was present in the EC’s original proposal and hasn’t been addressed, he said. ISPs would still be allowed to establish a two-tier environment: A discounted Tier-1 Internet with selected services, and a pricier Tier-2 with all the rest, he said. To avoid the problem, the draft regulation should clearly state that ISPs can’t charge different prices for Internet access unless there are objective justifications such as quality, not just commercial deals between the ISP and a few online providers, Genna said. A second problem is that the ITRE version doesn’t describe what the “open Internet” is, he said. It should mean that ISPs can’t in any way control which online offerings their subscribers choose and how, he said. Not only should blocking, throttling and bandwidth limitation be banned, but the principle should cover any potential instrument an ISP could use to control user choice, Genna said. Lawmakers made some improvement in the EC definition of specialized services but it still leaves room for ISPs to market as such services products and offerings that are normally accessible on the open Internet, he said. The loopholes will have to be closed when the draft measure goes to plenary vote April 3, Artino said. The many Parliament members (MEPs) who proposed constructive amendments at the committee stage now have the chance to introduce new ones across party lines to ensure that the “general interest prevails over the short-term commercial interests of the telecom industry,” she said. The draft’s gray areas may lead to its rejection in plenary, Genna said. Approving a measure that’s still potentially dangerous to net neutrality “could be a risk for many MEPs which will be soon into elections” in May, he wrote. One MEP also voiced concern about the single telecom package’s net neutrality provisions. It “lacks the necessary guarantees for net neutrality in order to protect consumers against abuse of power by internet service providers,” said Marietje Schaake, of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, and the Netherlands, in a written statement. Net neutrality has been “traded off against abolishing roaming costs,” a “nice message to campaign on,” she said. regressed on net neutrality, said BEUC-The European Consumer Organisation. Net neutrality is essential for consumers to avoid Internet fragmentation and stop operators from becoming economic gatekeepers by prioritizing their and their commercial partners’ content, said Director General Monique Goyens. By failing to set clear safeguards between “Internet access services” and “specialized services” such as DTV, Parliament has allowed telcos to take content off the Internet and sell it as a specialized service, she said. That inevitably reduces consumer choice and harms Internet innovation, Goyens said. ITRE members also voted to end mobile roaming charges within the EU by Dec. 15, 2015, but asked the EC for guidelines for exceptional cases where companies would be allowed to apply such charges. MEPs also approved amendments to make spectrum trading and leasing easier, ITRE said. Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes called the vote “great news” for the telecom sector. Also Tuesday, ITRE confirmed a deal with the EU Greek Presidency on a measure to make cross-border electronic deals and e-identification easier. The draft law requires EU countries to recognize each other’s electronic identification systems, the committee said. MEPs also endorsed a compromise with governments on draft legislation to make broadband infrastructure cheaper to build by enabling broadband companies to share plans and costs with other sectors such as gas and transport, the committee said. A plenary vote on all three pieces of legislation is set for April 3. Striking a deal on the telecom reform package with the European Council will be one of the next parliament’s first priorities after May elections, ITRE said. The council defines the general political direction and priorities of the European Union.

EU efforts to end mobile roaming charges could stifle competition, said a coalition of 14 alternative mobile network operators and mobile virtual network operators. European Commission officials and members of the European Parliament announced an end to the fees, and Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee will vote on a proposal Tuesday, it said. The operators, which said they have more than 35 million EU users, said Thursday that the rules in the proposed text could prevent pro-competitive providers from offering attractive “roam-like-at-home” packages to consumers and risks distorting the market in favor of the big operators and groups. The current text envisions the end of retail roaming fees by Dec. 15, 2015. The operators’ alliance, which includes the European Association of Full-Mobile Virtual Network Operators, said it’s “extremely concerned” that the language focuses only on the end “retail” roaming prices without ensuring a revision of the corresponding regulated “wholesale” roaming caps. The group also objected to language it said the EC could use as a Trojan horse to accept or promote roaming alliances between large operators to the potential detriment of smaller players. The coalition said it’s not against the abolition of roaming fees, but wholesale tariffs should be reviewed and further lowered. The GSM Association declined to comment on the coalition statement, saying it will respond to Tuesday’s committee vote.

The U.S. and China drove patent-filing activity through the World Intellectual Property Organization to record levels last year, as the number of annual international patent applications surpassed the 200,000 mark for the first time, said WIPO. The number of 2013 filings under WIPO’s Patent and Cooperation Treaty (PCT) program reached 205,300, a 5.1 percent increase from 2012, WIPO said. The U.S. accounted for 56 percent of the PCT growth last year, and China 29 percent, it said Thursday. With 57,239 applications in 2013, the U.S. exceeded its previous filing peak of 54,046 applications in 2007, before the height of the global financial crisis, WIPO said. China surpassed Germany to become the third-largest user of the PCT system, with Japan in second place, it said. Panasonic, with 2,881 published PCT applications, overtook China’s ZTE as the largest filer in 2013, it said.

Cellphones sold in the EU should all use a common charger, said the European Parliament Thursday. It voted 550-12 to update the radio equipment directive, which harmonizes rules for placing devices such as mobile phones, car-door openers and modems on the market. The rules are intended to ensure that the growing number of devices don’t interfere with each other while respecting essential health and safety requirements, Parliament said. Members pressed the EU to come up with a standard charger to use with some categories of radio equipment such as mobile phones to simplify their use and reduce waste and costs. Lawmakers amended the original European Commission proposal to stipulate that the ability to work with standardized charges will be an essential condition for radio equipment, but said it’s up to the EC to decide what kinds of equipment have to meet the condition. The draft now needs Council approval. The vote “sets the basis for further innovation and growth in the area of mobile communications,” said EU Industry and Entrepreneurship Commissioner Antonio Tajani.

EU efforts to end mobile roaming charges could stifle competition, said a coalition of 14 alternative mobile network operators and mobile virtual network operators Thursday. European Commission officials and members of the European Parliament announced an end to the fees, and Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee will vote on a proposal April 3, it said. The operators, which said they have more than 35 million EU users, said the proposed text could prevent pro-competitive providers from offering attractive “roam-like-at-home” packages to consumers and risks distorting the market in favor of the big operators and groups. The current text envisions the end of retail roaming fees by Dec. 15, 2015. The alliance, which includes the European Association of Full-Mobile Virtual Network Operators, said it’s “extremely concerned” that the language focuses only on the end “retail” roaming prices without ensuring a revision of the corresponding regulated “wholesale” roaming caps. The group also objected to language it said the EC could use as a Trojan horse to accept or promote roaming alliances between large operators to the potential detriment of smaller players. The coalition said it’s not against the abolition of roaming fees, but wholesale tariffs should be reviewed and further lowered.

The U.K. leads the five largest EU economies on superfast broadband take-up and coverage, the U.K. Office of Communications said Wednesday. Its European broadband scorecard (http://xrl.us/bqpkgx) defined “superfast” broadband as fixed-line broadband technologies capable of providing speeds equal to or greater than 30 Mbps. The report compared coverage, take-up and usage, speed, price and choice. It found that availability of such broadband increased in the U.K. from about 60 percent at the end of 2011 to 73 percent, putting Britain in first place, ahead of France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Among those countries, the U.K. had the highest broadband take-up, of all types, by household, at 83 percent, Ofcom said. It also had the highest proportion of people who bought goods online (77 percent) and the highest weekly Internet usage (87 percent), it said. The U.K. also had the lowest proportion of people who have never used the Internet (8 percent). The findings are good news “but there is more to be done,” said Ofcom Chief Executive Ed Richards. The regulator wants wider availability of superfast broadband, and more progress on ensuring that consumers get consistently high quality of service, including faster line repairs and installations for broadband and telephony, he said.

App users believe that the applications environment is safer than browser-based Internet access, and pay little if any attention to requests for permission to, for example, use location data when downloading and using apps, a study for the U.K. Office of Communications found. The Kantar Media report done for Ofcom (http://xrl.us/bqozts) examined users’ attitudes and behaviors, the stated and observed impact of apps on their lives, and any concerns raised. It focused on people using smartphones, tablets, MP3 players and smart TVs, covering the Android, Apple iOS, Windows and BlackBerry smart device operating systems. The study found that users believe that official app stores monitor and vet the apps they make available, revealing an “almost universal trust” that well-known brands provide a safe, secure user experience. Apps were also deemed safer than browsers because they're more limited and contained, the report said. There was widespread lack of personal negative experience or awareness of significant problems with apps, it said. These perceptions led many app users to ignore permission requests from providers, it said. Very few participants raised spontaneous concerns about apps, but when prompted, parents said in-app purchasing and advertising were the biggest issue. Influenced, however, by the common perceptions about the apps environment, more parents were likely to allow children to use apps than to access browser content, it said. Parents universally agreed that parental control features were appealing, especially being able to restrict and limit the content of apps and narrow full access to app marketplaces, it said. The research was carried out via discussion groups, in-home family interviews and interviews with paired teenage friends.

Ideal data security would combine the U.S.’s strong enforcement efforts with the EU’s legislative efforts, said Jacob Kohnstamm, chairman of the Dutch Data Protection Authority, at a Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) event Wednesday. Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, president of France’s data privacy regulatory agency Commission Nationale de L'Informatique et des Libertés, acknowledged the benefit of industry-set codes of conduct but said governments should set the codes’ “level of demands.” Washington University School of Law professor Neil Richards cited his forthcoming paper in Intellectual Privacy (http://bit.ly/MUFzSP), in which he says, “Despite calls from industry groups and a few isolated academics that [information privacy laws] somehow menace free public debate, the vast majority of information privacy law is constitutional under ordinary settled understandings of the First Amendment.” FPF is an industry-backed privacy advocate group supported by companies including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon; data brokers such as Acxiom and retailers such as Walmart.

The U.S. plans to initiate trade discussions with other countries in an effort to boost telecom equipment exports as a means to add American manufacturing jobs, said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative 2014 trade agenda (http://1.usa.gov/1fGXWH5). “We will seek to negotiate and implement Telecommunications Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) with select countries to facilitate U.S. exports of telecommunications equipment,” said USTR Tuesday. The Obama administration also aims to conclude the World Trade Organization Information Technology Agreement (ITA) in 2014. The elimination of duties on modern information technology products through the ITA would boost U.S. technology exports, said USTR. The telecom industry approved of the prospects. “The President’s 2014 Trade Agenda demonstrates the Administration’s commitment to pursuing high-standard trade agreements that will open markets and level the playing field for the U.S. [information and communications technology] industry,” said Telecommunications Industry Association President Grant Seiffert in a news release (http://bit.ly/NU6lv0). “This will ultimately benefit the United States through economic growth, job creation, and enhancing America’s global competitiveness.” The administration is also prioritizing conclusion of Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations in 2014, said USTR. Administration officials had previously aimed to complete the deal by the end of 2013. The USTR said it also expects “significant progress” on free trade agreement negotiations toward the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the European Union during 2014. U.S. trade negotiators intend to use the Trans-Pacific Partnership, WTO and TTIP forums to crack down on intellectual property infringements, said USTR. “We will use all appropriate trade policy tools to address key trade-related IP issues and resolve specific intellectual property rights [IPR] issues that undermine the rights of Americans,” said USTR. “We seek to actively combat global counterfeiting that both threatens American jobs and often endangers the health and safety of global consumers. The United States will continue to use the ‘Special 301’ process and annual report to Congress both to drive continued improvements to the IPR protection and enforcement system and to spotlight challenges."