* EU adopted net neutrality rules last year
* EU regulators drew up guidelines to enforce them
* Telecoms firms limited in how they treat different typesof data
By Julia Fioretti
BRUSSELS, Aug 30 (Reuters) - European Union telecomsregulators adopted strict rules on Tuesday limiting how telecomsfirms like Vodafone and Orange can prioritisesome types of Internet traffic, dealing a blow to an industryhoping to boost revenues.
The guidelines on net neutrality - the principle that allInternet traffic should be treated equally - were welcomed byInternet activists. The new rules will ensure the web remains anopen platform and will not become a two-speed highway,benefiting only companies with deep pockets that can pay forprioritised delivery, they said.
The European Union adopted its first ever net neutralityrules last year and Tuesday's guidelines will be used byregulators to enforce the law.
Telecoms companies will only be able to offer so-calledspecialised services - such as connectivity for driverless carsand Internet-connected devices - over dedicated network capacityif it is "objectively necessary" and only if it does notnegatively affect the Internet.
The telecoms industry is seeking to increase revenues byoffering specialised services that need a guaranteed level ofquality, to offset declining turnover from its traditionaltelephony business. Companies had pushed hard for leewayallowing them to prioritise some types of data over others.
Services such as high-quality voice calling on mobilenetworks, live television delivered over the Internet and remotesurgery, or telesurgery, are likely to be allowed as specialisedservices, according to the guidelines.
Regulators will assess whether a service needs to bedelivered separately from the rest of the Internet on acase-by-case basis.
The telecoms industry said it was essential to avoid"restrictive interpretations" of Europe's net neutrality law.
"Let's make sure the implementation of net neutrality rulesdoes not hamper new applications and services," said Lise Fuhr,director general of ETNO, a telecoms lobbying group representingoperators including Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica and Telecom Italia.
The regulators also limited the extent to which telecomsoperators may exempt some applications, for example Facebook,from a customer's data usage, a practice known as zero-rating.
Operators will only be able to offer some applicationscompletely free until the customer has hit their data cap.
So, customers would not be able to continue using Facebookor, say, Spotify, for free once they have used up all the datain their subscription.
"Europe is now a global standard setter in the defence ofthe open, competitive and neutral Internet", said Joe McNamee,executive director of European Digital Rights, an association ofcivil and human rights organisations. (Reporting by Julia Fioretti; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Vodafone (VOD)