Sales Director
“Net Neutrality and VoIP? What do they have in common?” you might be thinking.
Well, both are crucial in our increasingly connected world, and their interaction can significantly impact how we communicate. By understanding how Net Neutrality supports and enhances your VoIP system, you can make more informed decisions about the communication tools and services you choose.
In our latest guide, we explore how Net Neutrality and VoIP work together to keep the internet open, fair and free to innovate.
If you’d like to learn more about VoIP technology, what it is, and how it works - our article ‘What is VoIP?’ has everything you need to know.
Net Neutrality is a rule that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) must follow, requiring them to treat all online data equally. This means they can't favour or charge differently based on the type of user, content, website, platform, or application. Simply put, it ensures that everyone has the same access and opportunities while using the internet.
When paired with your VoIP service, it prevents ISPs from blocking, slowing down, or charging you extra for using their services.
When applied to VoIP services, Net Neutrality prevents ISPs from discriminating against VoIP traffic. This means they can’t block your ability to use VoIP, intentionally degrade its quality by slowing down data speeds, or charge you additional fees solely for using VoIP services.
The concept of Net Neutrality is based on three foundational principles. Each principle ensures the internet remains an open and fair space for all users and providers.
The principle of ‘not blocking’ means users can access any website or service without restriction. Your ISP shouldn’t stop you from accessing websites, applications or content, unless it’s considered illegal. For VoIP services, it means that ISPs can’t restrict users from accessing specific VoIP providers, allowing you to choose the service that matches your needs.
They’re also not allowed to intentionally slow down or degrade internet speeds based on the nature of the content, applications, or services either. Through this principle, VoIP users can enjoy consistent and reliable performance for all types of internet traffic, preventing poor call quality, interruptions or delays caused by reduced internet speeds.
As a precursor to the ‘Big Switch Off’ of traditional landlines (which has now shifted from 2025 to 2027), BT Openreach has trialled restrictions on broadband services in certain areas of the UK. This is, however, not due to favouritism but to nudge customers who have not yet switched from traditional landlines to digital options as the switch-off date nears.
To learn more about the Big Switch Off, why not take a look at our article ‘Your options when the ‘Big Switch Off’ happens in 2027.
Fast lanes occur when an ISP provides better service to customers who pay more, often resulting in slower or disjointed service for other customers. Net Neutrality principles work to promote fairness by preventing ‘fast lanes’, where wealthier companies can buy better service, while smaller or independent providers struggle with slower speeds.
If you’re a startup business using VoIP, Net Neutrality is here to support you. It protects your internet access, allowing you to compete fairly with established companies.
Without unfair restrictions, your business can access the tools, platforms, and software that allow you to create better services for your customers. It also places your business at the centre of a vibrant, competitive and innovative global marketplace.
While VoIP continues to grow in popularity, it’s still considered a disruptive technology. This is because it offers flexibility, cost savings, and features that traditional phone services can't match. It allows businesses and individuals to communicate effortlessly, regardless of where they are in the world.
Net Neutrality principles work to maintain VoIP’s disruptive status, ensuring fair competition, fostering innovation, and protecting consumer choice. Without it, ISPs could undermine VoIP's advantages, stifling the benefits that make VoIP a transformative technology.
The battle for fair use of the internet hasn’t been easy. Net Neutrality has been the subject of various legal battles across the globe, with governments and regulatory bodies taking multiple stances on the issue, creating a complex regulatory environment.
In the United States, Net Neutrality has been a contentious issue. The Federal Communication Commission’s stance has shifted between strict regulations and deregulation over the years. The Obama administration employed strong rulings in 2015, preventing ISPs from blocking, throttling, or prioritising internet traffic.
However, these protections were reversed in 2017 under the Trump administration's ‘Restoring Internet Freedom Order’, leading to legal challenges and widespread debate.
The UK's path to Net Neutrality has been unique. As a member of the European Union, the UK followed EU regulations that upheld Net Neutrality principles, ensuring all internet traffic received equal treatment.
In a post-Brexit climate, the UK now has the chance to establish its own regulatory framework. Moving forward, the UK's approach to Net Neutrality will play a large part in how fair and competitive its digital landscape is.
If you’re a business using VoIP, it’s always handy to understand how policies like Net Neutrality impact the service your provider delivers. Changes in government stance or regulatory bodies (like Ofcom) may lead to unexpected or sudden changes in policy. This also includes Net Neutrality, meaning abrupt rule changes may impact how providers deliver their service.
For businesses like yours, it’s a good idea to plan for service disruptions and increased costs that these changes may bring. By keeping up to date with the latest regulatory information, you’ll be able to prepare for any eventuality.
For businesses using VoIP, staying proactive can cushion the impact of potential regulatory changes. Here are some areas to look at when planning for the future of your VoIP operation:
If your business deals with a large volume of call or network traffic, consider partnering with multiple ISPs. That way, if one ISP starts throttling or blocking VoIP traffic, you’ll be able to switch to another provider, allowing you to offer the service your customers expect.
QoS measures the standard of service across your network. By investing in QoS practices, you’ll be able to monitor issues that could disrupt your service levels. These practices can be crucial for maintaining clear and reliable communication, especially during peak usage times or in the event of ISP interference.
To learn more about QoS and how its practices can support your VoIP system, read our article ‘How to Optimise Quality of Service (QoS) for your VoIP System’.
As mentioned earlier in our guide, it's a good idea to keep up with the latest developments in Net Neutrality regulations.
If you have an IT department or systems administrator, it may be worth alerting them to industry newsletters, professional associations, and updates from regulatory bodies like Ofcom. This information can help you anticipate and prepare for policy shifts and potential disruptions to your service that may follow.
Spreading the message of Net Neutrality throughout your workplace is a great way to keep your workforce in the loop. It may be useful to encourage your employees to support Net Neutrality through petitions, social media campaigns, and engagement with policymakers. Collective efforts like these can build momentum when trying to safeguard the regulatory environment for your VoIP services.
As much as this may seem like common sense, choosing a VoIP service provider that works for your business is essential. With so many options available, for example, T2K, it’s common for businesses to opt for a certain provider only to find out they aren’t a good fit.
When choosing your VoIP provider, do as much research as possible. Do they have a good track record of adapting to regulatory changes? Do they invest in the best tech to maintain quality service levels? If not, it may be worth looking elsewhere.
You should also regularly review your contracts with providers to ensure they include conditions for maintaining service levels, even when regulatory shifts occur.
Net Neutrality and VoIP make an ideal pairing. Together, they have the potential to create a fair and reliable communication landscape, free of restriction and priority service.
By incorporating Net Neutrality practices into your VoIP operations, you can play a part in ensuring that ISPs treat all internet traffic equally. As a result, you’ll also be able to enjoy high-quality VoIP services for your own business, without service levels dropping.
To learn more about Net Neutrality and its impact on your VoIP system, contact T2K today.
Having worked for T2k for nearly 25 years, it's fair to say that Lee is an expert when it comes to all things telephony and business communications. Overseeing the commercial side of the business, he has helped the company evolve and grow through the decades. In recent years, and with the advent of VoIP and hosted telephony, Lee has made sure that T2k is at the forefront of technological developments. With a firm interest in helping businesses navigate the world of telecoms, Lee is responsible for the majority of the content on this website.
