Get iMessage, Netflix on BB: BlackBerry CEO's definition of 'net neutrality' is anything but neutral

BlackBerry CEO John Chen has put forth his own agenda for net neutrality in a blogpost on the company’s website and a letter to the US Congress, by stating that rival companies should be asked to make their widely used apps available on Blackberry handsets. In his blog post Chen wrote, “Key to BlackBerry’s turnaround has been a strategy of application and content neutrality. For example, we opened up our proprietary BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service in 2013, making it available for download on our competitors’ devices.” He also points out how BlackBerry introduced its secure BES12 mobile device management software for enterprises and government agencies whose employees use iPhone and Android devices as well. However he alleges that companies like Apple are not playing fair. He notes, “Apple does not allow BlackBerry or Android users to download Apple’s iMessage messaging service.” Chen also took aim at popular video-streaming site Netflix and says the site has “discriminated against BlackBerry customers by refusing to make its streaming movie service available to them.” According to Chen, some app developers are only offering service only to iPhone and Android users and that thus is has created “a two-tiered wireless broadband ecosystem”. He adds, that since iPhone and Android users get access to more content apps, this is a prime example of “discriminatory practices that neutrality advocates have criticised at the carrier level.” He goes on to conclude his letter by saying that

“Neutrality must be mandated at the application and content layer if we truly want a free, open and non-discriminatory internet. All wireless broadband customers must have the ability to access any lawful applications and content they choose, and applications/content providers must be prohibited from discriminating based on the customer’s mobile operating system.”

Net neutrality is the principle that there should be no paid prioritisation for net traffic, that all data packets should be treated equally. ISPs in the US however want to charge more for when users access service like Netflix at high-speeds. Chen with his letter is trying to expand this definition of net neutrality from just at the carrier level but also at the content level. For starters, Chen’s comment specially the one against Netflix need to be seen in context of the history between the two companies. As this ArsTechnica piece points out, “Netflix said in 2013 that it would not build an app for BlackBerry because of the platform’s low market share.” Right now it is possible to run Netflix on BlackBerry thanks to the Amazon App Store which brings Android apps to BlackBerry users. However in the past, BlackBerry even offered to create a Netflix app, a request that didn’t really go down too well. Chens’ definition of ’net neutrality’ hasn’t gone down too well with most. As this piece on The Verge notes, “Chen’s freestyling redefinition of neutrality equates two highly distinct industries and conflates a whole bunch of issues into a specious, and utterly warped, argument.” It goes on to state that while “fast and reliable internet connections are a necessary public service” where apps are concerned BlackBerry’s “best strategy would be to make a better OS, which would attract more users and thus more developers.” Then of course there’s the whole BBM argument. Chen says the company opened the app to Android and iOS users in 2013, to bolster his ‘content-neutrality’ theory. Except the truth is that BBM was virtually inaccessible to those who didn’t have a BlackBerry device during the period when BBM was one of the most desired apps. Even in the early days of the smartphone revolution from 2010-2012, BBM was seen as a much-prized app, but because the app never came to other platforms, other apps took-off like WhatsApp. Currently BBM doesn’t have too many fans left. The truth is BlackBerry’s OS hasn’t left the kind of mark the company hoped it would. It’s not longer in the top five OS and frankly for app developers, it will never be a good enough to get a standalone app.  Also this demand for Netflix and iMessage seems in conflict with the kind of image that BlackBerry has been trying to project. It’s trying to move into the enterprise space, the new devices (Classic and Passport) are aimed at business-end users. So then why ask for Netflix or iMessage?  Also isn’t BBM good enough for BlackBerry users. Frankly’s Chen’s argument for ‘app neutrality’ isn’t convincing anyone.