Digital Law Up(to)date: More clarity on unlimited surfing

As the federal regulatory body responsible for regulating the electronic communications market, the BIPT received complaints of customers of unlimited internet packages who had their internet access blocked or drastically reduced after using a certain amount of internet.

In fact, unlimited internet is usually accompanied by a fair use policy that limits the use of internet. The limitation applies either when a limit decided in advance by the operator is exceeded, or when the operator finds that the excessive consumption of one customer affects the normal consumption of other customers.

According to the BIPT, the use of the term “unlimited” by operators is a commercial condition that shall not limit the exercise of the right to access and distribute information and content, use and provide applications and services, and use terminal equipment of the choice of the end-users (see art. 3(1) and 3(2) of the open internet access Regulation (2015/2012)). The BIPT also acknowledges that the limits imposed by operators may be set to ensure a high-quality internet to all customers on the network.

Finally, the BIPT considers that a fair use should be reflected in minimum monthly volumes: 300 gigabytes for mobile internet and 3 terabytes for fixed internet.  If these limits are exceeded, the internet access cannot be blocked, but the browsing speed may be limited. In addition, the user may, at his or her express request, pay to restore the original browsing speed. Finally, the fair use policy must be transparent, accessible, precise and clear: the customer must be able to understand the limits and consequences of exceeding them.

This article was co-authored by Edouard Cruysmans in his capacity of Professional Support Lawyer at Stibbe.