The possibility of generating a regulation that integrates Fair Share was the focus of an intense debate in which the different perspectives on the use and traffic of the Internet were highlighted.

In the panel “Innovation and equity: Exploring fair share in Telecom”, the discussion adopted different topics, from governance and finance to spectrum management and the effects on the final consumer.

Lucas Gallito, head of Latin America at GSMA, stressed that since connectivity is a scarce resource, the problem is not financial, but rather the management of “the little resource that there is” in relation to the spectrum.

He added that since “70% of the traffic is used by three content generators” and that “they are the ones who are monetizing with advertising”, “mechanisms” must be established to use it efficiently.

Gallito stood alone in this position. The rest of the panel was, with nuances, against Fair Share.

Melissa Horwitz, director of the Office of Bilateral Affairs, International Information and Communications Policy at the US State Department, took the opposite view: she warned that there is “a conceptual confusion” between connectivity versus traffic control and the need to promote more fair, open and equitable connectivity.

“A regulation can lead to distorted decisions by content generators and providers,” she warned. “With an intervention, there is a risk of discriminating against a subset of providers, which would harm users,” she added.

As far as defending network neutrality is concerned, Christian O'Flaherty, vice president of the Internet Society for Latin America and the Caribbean, said that “it is very important to defend network neutrality because it is the users who are going to be affected.”

He added that a regulatory intervention in favor of the inclusion of Fair Share would only penalize traffic. “I agree with the caution regarding the issue; however, this type of breach of agreement makes us impatient. And although it is true that there are few generators that have the most traffic, they are the same ones that have the greatest incentive to offer quality,” he emphasized.

For Julissa Cruz, recently ratified as head of the regulator Indotel, of the Dominican Republic, the lack of connectivity in the region cannot be an excuse to impose Fair Share. “It is not yet clear how this will operate to guarantee the closing of the gap,” she said and added: “However, this exercise is very healthy, it is a space to get closer to the solutions that are not yet available in terms of Fair Share. Let us be patient, it is a market issue, the intervention of the State must be in very specific cases.”

Raúl Echeberría, Executive Director of the Latin American Internet Association (ALAI), stressed that “there is no way to regulate everything on the Internet.” He observed that “it works because there is collaboration. There is always room for improvements and optimization of traffic.” And he stressed that the debate has been going on for more than two years in Europe “and nothing has yet been determined. There are no conditions for this regulatory intervention,” he warned.