This preferential pricing strategy, called “zero rating”, is being tolerated to an extent by European net neutrality rules. Aside from standard zero-rating pricing, some of MEO’s mobile phone packages adopt two-tiered pricing which critics see as an even bigger departure from net neutrality than zero rating. MEO says it “complies with the EU rules on net neutrality and there is no market distortion caused by its offers”. ‘WE CONTINUE TO FIGHT’Nevertheless, experts and regulators say it is an exaggeration to describe the EU situation as “no net neutrality”. Mobile operators charging almost 200% higher for off-net calls“The situation with zero-rating offers is not black and white,” BEREC chairman Sebastien Soriano told Reuters.

Source: The Express Tribune December 16, 2017 08:26 UTC