Major U.K. ISP Calls for End to U.K.’s Net Neutrality Rules
Virgin Media O2 says the rules stifle innovation, limit network investment and prevent AI development.
WASHINGTON, July 28, 2026 – A study commissioned by a major U.K. broadband provider is saying that national net neutrality rules are limiting network investment, innovation and the development of artificial intelligence.
The “Net Fatality” study from Steven Howard of the Communications Chambers, conducted for Virgin Media O2, found the decade-old net neutrality rules that require telecom providers to treat all traffic equally are preventing operators from launching new services in a new era of connectivity.
Treating all traffic equally can be detrimental to network and capacity performance, leaving the U.K. at risk of falling behind in the 5G market, the report says. Customers do not get to choose what should take priority and operators are unable to tailor and prioritize sensitive services for customers.
“Outdated net neutrality rules limit innovation and hold back the full benefits of the infrastructure we’re building. We’re not able to help customers by prioritizing taxi and map apps when traveling home at night and can't prioritize payment apps for sole traders in crowded markets. No one is winning,” Virgin Media O2 CEO Lutz Schüler said in the July 22 release.
Schüler noted that new technologies like AI will continue to improve, but without reform from the U.K. government, Virgin Media O2 will not get the most out of it. He said the government “should use its mobile market review to remove the antiquated roadblocks to innovation.”
Reformation of net neutrality rules would allow apps to offer essential services for businesses to manage daily operations, use customer insights to provide services and allow users to choose what to prioritize.
“If we want a mobile sector pushing the boundaries with the latest technologies and services like 5G and agentic AI, then we need modern regulation that’s fit for purpose, with rules that preserve the open internet, but which give operators the freedom to get creative and experiment,” Howard said in the release.
Net neutrality was enacted in 2016 to help internet users control what they do and see online, not the internet service provider. Regulations impose measures that impact how ISPs manage data traffic on their networks and place obligations for ISPs to be transparent in customer contracts.
