Merge pull request 'article on Router Freedom in Greece' (#3310 ) from 20230313-routergreece into master

Reviewed-on: #3310
article on Router Freedom in Greece
2023-03-13 08:14:31 +00:00 · 2023-03-13 09:14:54 +01:00 · 2023-03-13 09:09:49 +01:00 · 2023-03-13 08:51:29 +01:00
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 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <html newsdate="2023-03-13">
 <version>1</version>
 <head>
  <title>Greece adopts news rules on Router Freedom</title>
 </head>
 <body>
 <h1>  Greece adopts new rules on Router Freedom</h1>
 <p>The Greek regulator has adopted new rules introducing Router Freedom 
 in the country. Since 2021, the FSFE has been working with policymakers 
 to protect the interests of end-users. Supporting civil society and 
 industry organisations backed the FSFE and contributed positively to 
 this new law.</p>
 <figure>
      <img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/original/82/fc/adc66b468aa1eebfdf4f5ae146b8.png" alt="Greece is now among the countries regulating Router 
 Freedom"/> 
 <figcaption>Greece is now among the countries regulating Router Freedom. <a 
 href="https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/router-freedom-monitoring-tool_581123"> 
 Click on the picture to check the status of other countries.</a></figcaption>
 </figure>
 <p>Routers and modems are gateways to the Internet. As with any other 
 <a 
 href="/activities/deviceneutrality/#general-purpose-computer-free-software">digital 
 devices</a>, consumers should be able to choose such an important 
 piece of equipment. In order to make this right happen, 
 telecommunications law in the EU has been passing through complex 
 legislative reforms since 2018. The process has been <a 
 href="/news/2020/news-20200601-01">slow and marked by 
 nuances</a>. <a 
 href="https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/router-freedom-monitoring-tool_581123">Not 
 all EU countries</a> have taken Router Freedom as a priority. 
 Greece, on the other hand, has been working on the issue for several 
 years and is now among the European countries regulating how 
 end-users can  use their own routers and modems to connect to the 
 Internet.</p> 
 <h2>Two years of engagement and a lot of teamwork</h2>
 <p>At the end of 2020, the Greek telecom regulator (Hellenic 
 Telecommunications and Post Commission - EETT) started the reform of 
 the telecommunications law and launched the process to set new 
 standards for Router Freedom. In April 2021, the FSFE <a 
 href="/news/2021/news-20210505-01">coordinated an 
 alliance</a> with several civil society organisations and industry 
 representatives to provide input  to EETT’s public consultation on the 
 new regulation.  At that time, we backed the regulator’s preliminary 
 conclusion that Router Freedom would be fully compatible with Greek 
 legislation, and would not cause market restrictions or 
 interoperability issues.</p>
 <p>In April 2022, EETT published the first draft 
 of the regulation. However, in the proposal, the regulator <a 
 href="/news/2022/news-20220628-01">excluded 
 fiber connections (FTTH)</a>, a decision that has the potential to 
 negatively impact end-user rights. The FSFE submitted a 
 comprehensive analysis on why Router Freedom should encompass fiber and 
 why it is essential to strike a balance between the rights of ISPs and 
 those of end-users. FSFE’s arguments were supported by the same 
 alliance of organisations and group of volunteers. </p> 
 <p>In March 2023, EETT adopted the final version of the 
 regulation (<a 
 href="https://www.eett.gr/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/AP1058-011-020.pdf">EL</a>) 
 regulating Router Freedom in the country. The new rule confirms the 
 freedom of terminal equipment for all network topologies other than 
 fiber. The regulator has taken a stricter approach for FTTH and decided 
 to keep the optical network equipment (ONT) within the domain of the 
 ISPs. Although the regulator allows end-users to require a separation 
 of the ONT and routers, this restricts users from plugging their fiber router 
 directly into the network.</p>
 <h2>The future: room for improvement and pushing against violations</h2>
 <p>We acknowledge the efforts the Greek regulator has put over the last few 
 years in the regulatory process. The national regulatory agency has involved different 
 stakeholders and communicated well with them. These are good practices 
 for a transparent and inclusive process for norm setting.</p> 
 <p>We regret, however, that EETT has decided to exclude fiber networks  as a default 
 for Router Freedom. Although the regulator allows end-users to separate 
 the router from the ONT, other European countries, such as <a 
 href="https://www.eett.gr/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/AP1058-011-020.pdf">Finland</a>,
 <a href="/news/2021/news-20210805-01">the Netherlands</a>, 
 and most probably <a href="/news/2022/news-20221215-01">Belgium</a>, have set higher standards by 
 allowing consumers to plug the fiber router directly to the public 
 network.</p>
  <figure>
    <img
      src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/48324e598fb3d81f1b72e387d1cc459f.png"
      alt="Even with Router Freedom established in the legislation, ISPs can still violate the rules." />
      <figcaption>Even with Router Freedom established in the legislation, ISPs can still violate the rules.</figcaption>
  </figure>
 <p>Notwithstanding this compromise, Greek consumers are better 
 served by a clear framework for Router Freedom. Legal uncertainty plays 
 against consumers, who now have clear rules to demand their rights from 
 ISPs. </p>
 <p>We encourage the regulator to make the new rules effective.  More 
 than only a technical issue, freedom of terminal equipment represents a 
 policy demand and requires constant monitoring of ISPs’ commercial 
 practices. Even in countries with clear-cut rules, ISPs can still 
 violate them, especially when:</p>
 <ul>
 <li>
 Customers are contractually prohibited from using their equipment or 
 ISPs impose disproportional disadvantages upon users with private routers;
 </li>
 <li>
 ISPs do not inform customers of their rights regarding terminal 
 equipment or manipulate users through their customer service in favour 
 of the ISP’s routers;
 </li>
 <li>
 ISPs advertise their routers as the only ones compatible with the 
 network, or use non-standard plugs or proprietary protocols;
 </li>
 <li>ISPs do not provide users the login data to the public network or make no support available to customers. </li>
 <li>
 ISPs do not offer the same level of service (e.g. IPv6, bandwidth, etc) 
 for customers using their own router.
 </li>
 </ul> 
 <h2>Community work paid off</h2> 
 <p>FSFE’s work has been empowered by an amazing network of supporters, volunteers, and partner organisations. 
 We would like to thank the Free Software organisations <a href="https://gfoss.eu/">GFOSS</a> and 
 <a href="https://www.greeklug.gr/el/">GreekLUG</a>, the digital rights 
 group <a href="https://www.homodigitalis.gr/">Homo Digitalis</a>, the 
 network 
 association <a href="https://www.sarantaporo.gr/">Sarantoporo.gr</a>, 
 the Greek consumer organisations <a 
 href="http://www.kepka.org/">KEPKA</a>; and 
 <a href="https://ekpizo.gr/">EKPIZO</a>, the industry representative 
 <a href="https://vtke.eu/">VTKE</a>, and all our <a 
 href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Greece">Greek volunteers</a> 
 for their commitment and engagement in these years for making a change 
 in favour of end-users in Greece.</p> 
  <figure>
    <img
      src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/44/29/2c6491a82b7267d5c2d3bea8775c.jpg"
      alt="There is no Router Freedom without Free Software" />
  <figcaption>There is no Router Freedom without Free Software. You are 
  invited to join our volunteer groups and support software freedom!</figcaption>
  </figure>
 <h2>Router Freedom and Device Neutrality</h2>
 <p><a href="/activities/routers/routers">Router Freedom</a> is the 
 right of consumers of any Internet Service Provider to choose 
 and use 
 a private modem and router instead of equipment provided by the ISP. 
 <a href="/activities/deviceneutrality/index">Device Neutrality</a> 
 protects end-users against discriminatory 
 restrictions on Free Software on their devices. With Router Freedom, 
 end-users can install a customized operating system on their equipment 
 and exercise control over the technology. <a href="/my.fsfe.org/donate">Please consider becoming a 
 FSFE donor</a>; you will help make possible our long-term commitment and 
 professional dedication to defending people’s rights to control 
 technology.</p>
 </body>
 <tags>
  <tag key="front-page"/>
  <tag key="routers">Router Freedom</tag>
  <tag key="deviceneutrality">Device Neutrality</tag>
  <tag key="gr">Greece</tag>
 </tags>
 <image url="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/original/82/fc/adc66b468aa1eebfdf4f5ae146b8.png" alt="Greece is now in the row of countries regulating Router 
 Freedom."/> 
 </html>
Author	SHA1	Message	Date
anaghz	5660d1e5b8	Merge pull request 'article on Router Freedom in Greece' (#3310 ) from 20230313-routergreece into master All checks were successful continuous-integration/drone/push Build is passing Details Reviewed-on: #3310	2023-03-13 08:14:31 +00:00
Ana Galan	921962166f	article on Router Freedom in Greece All checks were successful continuous-integration/drone/pr Build is passing Details	2023-03-13 09:14:54 +01:00
Ana Galan	58dea74dff	article on Router Freedom in Greece Some checks failed continuous-integration/drone/pr Build is failing Details	2023-03-13 09:09:49 +01:00
Ana Galan	9c0fa9d5b8	article on Router Freedom in Greece Some checks failed continuous-integration/drone/pr Build is failing Details	2023-03-13 08:51:29 +01:00