INEC Declaration on Open Networks
Declaration by the International Network of E-Communities, a group that shares best practices for community-led broadband initiatives, led by the Dutch ministry of economic affairs and the city of Stockholm.
Context
"The aim will be to agree on definitions of broadband and open networks and, more important, to define a common vision and framework for the future of network deployment, allowing for the best possible exchange of services, accessible to the greatest number of people. Will the Declaration call for an active role of public entities and/or government? Partly. Governments ought to interfere only when necessary, only when the public interest is then best served and only if the result can be guaranteed to be an open and free market where competition will be more effectively at work than is presently the case."
Text
Excerpts from the PDF version at http://www.smartcommunity.nl/content/download/18708/205771/file/Stockholm%20INEC%20Declaration%20on%20Open%20Networks.draft.6.0.pdf
"Open, operator-neutral networks are believed to be the best way to ensure societal needs are met today and in the future.
It belongs to the core responsibility of government to ensure the development, evolvement, maintenance and functioning of communication infrastructures thus simultaneously ensuring the fairest possible market conditions for any service provider to freely compete over the infrastructure.
[I]nfrastructures should be able to carry symmetric ‘broadband’ connectivity which allows for symmetric high resolution video communications as well as other high grade symmetric data exchange
Broadband, by today’s standards, is understood to cover bandwidths of 100 megabit per second on a symmetric basis – and more.
The signatories call on all public and private stakeholders to embrace the principles outlined in this declaration and to pursue investments and forge the appropriate conditions as for all to enjoy the social and economic benefits that flow from the impacts of open telecommunication infrastructures.
An open broadband infrastructure can be owned by a public entity or a public-private partnership or by one or more private entities. The role of governments as described under article three is to ensure the deployment and functioning of open broadband networks. This aim can be achieved by means of full or partial public ownership of the infrastructure or by dedicated laws and regulations guaranteeing the open nature of a privately-owned infrastructures."
(http://www.smartcommunity.nl/news/inec/inec_declaration_on_open_networks_being_forged_community_leaders_around_the_world_to_sign)
Information above collated from http://scrawford.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2006/11/2/2469829.html
More Information
INEC, at http://www.smartcommunity.nl/about_inec/an_introduction_to_inec