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115 Zeilen
5.1 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<html newsdate="2019-10-28">
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<version>1</version>
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<head>
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<title>Router Freedom: regaining sovereignty over your digital equipment</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1>Router Freedom: regaining sovereignty over your digital equipment</h1>
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<p>The right of choosing your own modem and router is a
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basic precondition for a neutral, safe and healthy digital environment.
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If you cannot control your router, it is not free and your digital
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freedom is likely to be compromised. For years, the FSFE has been
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successfully fighting for Router Freedom in Germany. Now the debate has
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reached the European level with Internet Service Providers imposing
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their specific routers to customers. The FSFE has prepared an activity
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package for people and organisations interested in advocating for their
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freedom of choice.</p>
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<p><a href="/activities/routers/">Router Freedom</a> is the right of
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customers of any Internet Service Provider (ISP) to choose and use a
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private modem and router instead of a router that the Internet Service
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Providers (ISP) forces them to use - for example by contract. Such an
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enforcement comes with a series of problems because it essentially
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denies freedom of choice, taking away control of technology from users.
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In fact, our whole internet traffic, encryption, backups, communication,
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shopping, writings, business interaction, and so on is transferred
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through the router. If your router is not free, your digital freedom is
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likely to be compromised. </p>
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<p>In the period between 2013 and 2016, the Free Software Foundation
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Europe (FSFE) has successfully worked for Router Freedom in Germany.
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ISPs at the time were imposing by contract their equipment to consumers.
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The FSFE stepped into the public debate with a statement towards the
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Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) and started coordinating with other
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organisations a campaign to defend and promote the right of equipment
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choice. Our efforts culminated in the <a
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href="/news/2016/news-20160725-01.html">approval of a law</a>, which
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determined that from August 1st in 2016 onwards, all ISPs in Germany
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have to enable new clients to use alternative modems and routers to
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connect to the internet. In 2019, a regional court (level 2 of 4) <a
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href="https://www.golem.de/news/verbraucherschutz-1-1-darf-router-wahl-nicht-einschraenken-1906-142100.html">confirmed
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Router Freedom (DE)</a>, ruling that the ISPs may not compel their
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customers to choose their own provided router. It is a sign that this
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basic freedom is understood by German courts. </p>
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<h3>Router Freedom in Europe</h3>
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<p>Since 2016, Router Freedom in Europe is protected by the Regulation
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2015/2120 - the so-called Net Neutrality Regulation. Article 5 therein
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determines that the National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) are
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responsible for checking the application of the Regulation’s rules
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according to the technical guidelines of the Body of European Regulators
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for Electronic Communications (BEREC). The problematic stepping stone
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for the implementation of Router Freedom in Europe relates to legal and
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technical aspects around the "Network Termination Point" (NTP) - which
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establishes where the ISP's infrastructure ends and the user's begins.
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If the NTP would be defined to extend downstream the router, the user might
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not have the right to use their own equipment because it belongs to the
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ISP and would be covered by contract. </p>
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<figure>
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<img
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src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/big/6d6922a13499024cacf5c0872f0a65df.png"
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alt="Representation of the Network Termination Point"/>
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<figcaption>
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Representation of the Network Termination Point
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>To counteract this freedom restriction and to protect users' control
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of technology, the FSFE has started monitoring the status of router
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freedom in several countries and has been preparing an <a
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href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/CompulsoryRouters/">activity
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package</a> for people and organisations willing to advocate for router
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freedom. The package compiles information about how to raise awareness
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among people, ideas on how to build alliances with organisations, the
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(counter-)arguments to be used in the discussions, as well how to demand
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controls and supervision from the National Regulatory Agencies (NRA).
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</p>
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<h3>Get active</h3>
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<p>We encourage you to check out our <a
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href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/Activities/CompulsoryRouters/">activity
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package</a> on how to start organising a strategy for raising awareness
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among your community and political representatives. With your help, we
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can track which ISPs comply with the law and which do not, what the bad
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contract practices are, and how to better refine the Router Freedom
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panorama in Europe. Therefore, we would like to hear your experiences
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with ISPs regarding Router Freedom. Please <a
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href="/contact/">contact</a> us to share your experience, or if you have
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questions regarding the campaign. </p>
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</body>
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<tags>
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<tag key="routers">Router Freedom</tag>
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<tag key="competition">Competition</tag>
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<tag key="policy">Policy</tag>
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<tag key="front-page"/>
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</tags>
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<author id="lasota" />
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<discussion href="https://community.fsfe.org/t/router-freedom-regaining-sovereignty-over-your-digital-equipment/356" />
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</html>
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