The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA Europe) convened a high-level workshop in Brussels titled ‘Network Fees, IP Dispute Settlement, and the Future of the Open Internet’ in July 2025.
The workshop gathered a diverse set of stakeholders from across the European internet ecosystem – including alternative and smaller internet service providers (ISPs), content delivery networks (CDNs), content and application providers, cloud service operators, video game makers, and news publishers – to discuss the risks posed by the European Commission’s forthcoming Digital Networks Act (DNA).
Digital Networks Act Workshop: Network Fees, IP Dispute Settlement, and the Open Internet’s Future
A central concern raised was the Commission’s idea to introduce a mandatory dispute resolution mechanism for IP interconnection as part of the DNA. While framed as a neutral dispute ‘settlement’ tool, it would in practice revive longstanding efforts to impose network fees, an idea that successive public consultations have repeatedly rejected.
Speakers emphasised that today’s open internet thrives on settlement-free peering, with close to 100% of agreements built on voluntary cooperation. This model keeps the European internet dynamic, resilient, and affordable.
Imposing an IP mechanism through regulatory intervention, however, would risk:
- Higher costs for consumers and businesses, who would pay more but get lower-quality performance.
- Reduced resilience, making Europe’s internet more vulnerable to outages and attacks.
- Fragmentation, weakening Europe’s digital competitiveness and undermining the open internet model.
The workshop highlighted that regulating IP interconnection would not only be unnecessary but also counterproductive – threatening the adaptability of the internet and the long-term health of Europe’s digital economy.
