PRESS RELEASE

Assoprovider: "Operators that impose routers on customers are illegal"

"The major Italian telecommunications operators force users to purchase the modem/router device chosen by themselves in violation of European regulations," is the complaint of Dino Bortolotto, president of Assoprovider, an independent association of companies that operate as Internet Service Providers. The president highlights the non-compliance with the EU Regulation 2015-2020 of the European Parliament, which establishes the user's right to freely choose the router with which to connect to the Internet.

Assoprovider also explains that there are no technical reasons for the limitations imposed on consumers by large operators. "The technologies of Internet and VoIP networks adhere to specific standards issued by organizations or associations such as IETF, ITU-T, 3GPP, and DSL-Forum. The Internet and VoIP services provided by large operators to customers are regulated by the same technical standards adopted by the vast majority of national and international operators."

The violation of the regulations results in final disadvantages for the user who "if they decide to change operator, will be forced to purchase a new device." Furthermore, non-compliance with the law also causes serious security and privacy protection issues for users:

«Imponendo uno specifico apparato, l’operatore non solo ha modo di controllare completamente una parte della rete del cliente, ma di fatto espone l’utente a possibili conseguenze disastrose che sono frutto della scelta e dell’interesse dell’Operatore di Telecomunicazioni».

"Consider," continues Bortolotto, "the recent disruption that the customers of a major operator are experiencing due to the fact that the imposed modem router has been tampered with by a cyber attack; unable to change the modem router due to policy, these users find themselves deprived of Internet access service."

A rischio c’è la neutralità del web, “esistono servizi a valore aggiunto, magari di IPTV (sistema di trasmissione di segnali televisivi su reti informatiche), che potrebbero risultare ottimizzati solo per determinati fornitori di contenuti, magari quelli in partnership con l’operatore di TLC in questione, e non con gli altri disponibili sul mercato”.

L’esperienza del cliente potrebbe essere così tanto penalizzata da farlo desistere nel fruire econtrattualizzare servizi di altri operatori .

"The companies associated with Assoprovider have always operated in compliance with sector regulations and the ethical principles that characterize them, while the major operators, in fact, allow themselves to operate without respecting the regulations or the aforementioned ethical principles," concludes Bortolotto.

 Assoprovider is the association that since 1999 has brought together the first Internet providers (the Internet Service Providers) who have contributed with their battles against multinationals. Among the association's achievements is the approval of the "Legge Salvaprovider," which equated ISPs with telephone operators. And the liberalization of WIFI in public venues or confined areas of public attendance.

ASSOPROVIDER Secretariat: Via Casa Sasso, 7 – 84014 Nocera Inferiore (SA) Email: segreteria@assoprovider.it

PANDANT PRESS OFFICE

Giancarlo Donadio – Alessandro Savoia | 3298978575 – 3289159817 | press@pandant.it