(a) how emerging technologies and new business models impact Internet Dynamics?; (b) what kind of connectivity challenges and services/contents availability gaps should we highlight to understand this scenario?; (c) what sort of regulatory challenges zero rating practices present to this evolving Internet ecosystem; in particular, how zero-rating practices by Internet service providers have evolved in recent years?
In the worldwide long-run Internet evolution, it is possible to identify a series of changes of social, political, economic and cultural significance. The Internet innovation-driven logic causes unforeseen impacts, impinging new dynamics, shaping business models and putting on new challenges to policy, regulation and end-user practices in general. As per connectivity topics, a practice that is more and more common and integrated within markets, is the so-called zero-rating, a generic expression that could mean a sponsored data program, a free data usage within data plans, a content-based discrimination activity, a whole well defined and limited platform to provide access to specific applications among other examples.
Those types of practices have been subject of critical analyses by civil society and academia, also involving governments and the private sector. How to cope with those multiple meanings and realities? How to balance all different interests in Internet usage? The topic is extremely relevant as the emerging markets are witnessing a series of changing practices worldwide. New connectivity technologies and brand new application and content provisions demand more and more traffic as the user expands his/her visions of what the Internet is for.