October Newsletter

ISPA held a session on future communications data laws at the 9^th annual Parliament & Internet conference at Portcullis House. The panel, chaired by Lord Strasburger had representatives from the National Crime Agency, campaign groups and the media, as well as contributions from the Interception of Communications Commissioner’s Office, former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation Lord Carlile and Lord Errol. Main points included how the debate has become more public post Snowden and discussed reform of RIPA, the passing of DRIPA and whether mass collection means mass surveillance.  A lively discussion followed with contributions from Lord Carlisle and IoCCO with a general consensus that a wide debate was needed in Parliament but that ultimately the public had to have the final say on what level of intrusion was proportionate and necessary.  Please see our twitter here for a summary.

ISPA held a workshop at the Manchester Science Park this month, on how best to increase demand for superfast broadband. Working with BDUK, the workshop brought together over 80 representatives from ISPs and local authorities. Kindly hosted by Metronet (UK), the event discussed how best to communicate the transformative effects of superfast broadband to end users and what lessons could be learned from the Connection Vouchers scheme.

ISPA held a second workshop for hosting and data centre operators this month, hosted at the Digital Realty data centre in Chessington. The first part of the event was a discussion on the future issues affecting data centre operators and hosts and the second looked at the liability and policy issues affecting the sector. The event ended with a tour of the data centre and a reception for the new PoP arrangements between ISPA members Digital Realty and LINX (the London Internet Exchange).

ISPA published five principles to underpin future regulations for surveillance and communications data laws. These principles are about making sure any future regime has oversight and not a burden to business. The principles are:

• Data minimisation
• Oversight maximisation
• Transparent operation
• Jurisdictional respect
• Competitiveness

The principles formed part of ISPA’s response to the Anderson Review, included as part of DRIPA’s passing in Parliament. The principles are explained in full here and all our policy responses can be found here.

Broadband, intellectual property and the Anderson review saw ISPA feature in the media this month, with articles in The Guardian, Cable.co.uk (and here), V3 (and here),  ISP Review and Telecompaper.

ISPA would like to welcome Vision Fibre and Yaana Limited to the association. Vision Fibre installs bespoke ultra-fast Fibre to the Home Networks in private and social housing residential developments. With over thirty years experience in designing and managing a broad range of physical networks, Vision Fibre delivers an ultra-fast content rich and diverse network to customers. Yaana Limited, a global leader of Intelligent Compliance Solutions helping ISPs with the evolving complexities of government laws joined ISPA this month.  Yaana offers secure data retention with jurisdictional integrity, surveillance solutions, operational capabilities with strict auditing and transparency reporting. Joining ISPA has many benefits including free CISAS membership, a weekly Political Monitor and exclusive events as well as a chance to help shape UK and European internet policy.

ISPA has secured a 10% discount for those wishing to exhibit at NextGen14 in Derby. Please click here for details of the conference.