EU regulatory body Berec received an “unprecedented” almost half a million responses to its consultation on net neutrality.

The level of interest follows a similar process in the US two years ago, when the US Federal Communications Commission received more than one million comments on its net neutrality proposals.

The subject draws strongly held views both from activists and the industry, as well as other interested parties. The half a million figure indicates widespread interest from the general public, not a scenario with which Berec consultations are usually associated.

“The number of contributions received before the deadline is unprecedented for a Berec consultation,” it admitted.

Interested parties responded by 18 July to Berec’s proposed guidelines for how Europe’s regulators should implement the EU’s net neutrality rules.

The body will now process the responses ahead of a public meeting on 30 August, which promises to be a closely followed affair. At this event, Berec will share information on the outcome of the public consultation and the final net neutrality guidelines will be released.

All the contributions received for the Public Consultation (if not indicated as confidential) will also be published on the Berec website, though the personal data of the contributors will not released.