The European Commission on Thursday launched a session on the way forward for Europe’s telecoms sector, beginning a course of that might lead to requiring Alphabet’s Google, Apple, Meta Platform and Netflix to pay some community prices.
For greater than twenty years Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, Telecom Italia and different operators have lobbied for main expertise firms to contribute to 5G and broadband roll-out.
They argue firms together with Amazon and Microsoft account for greater than half of information web visitors.
The tech companies in response name it an web tax that can undermine EU community neutrality guidelines to deal with all customers equally. The 12-week session will finish on May 19.
EU trade chief Thierry Breton cited the heavy investments required to roll out 5G and broadband, saying he was not concentrating on any firm.
“The burden of these investments is heavier and heavier. And that is in part because of a low return on investment in the telecoms sector, the increase of the cost of raw materials, and the world geopolitical context, the cost of energy, of course, because that has a big role to play,” he advised a information convention.
“I want to say right away, that all of this reflection isn’t aimed against anyone at all, rather it’s for our fellow citizens,” Breton stated.
He stated a contributions mechanism may very well be one of many options.
According to a doc seen by Reuters final month, respondents will likely be requested whether or not massive visitors turbines must be topic to a compulsory mechanism of direct funds to finance community deployment and in addition whether or not the EU ought to create a continental or digital levy or fund.
“We hope to move very quickly so that in the summer we will be able to come back with conclusions and then we will see what we do to continue to make progress,” Breton stated.
Any legislative proposal will want to be agreed with EU international locations and EU lawmakers earlier than it will possibly grow to be legislation.
“This consultation is a positive and urgent step towards addressing major imbalances in the internet ecosystem to the benefit of European end-users,” telecoms lobbying group ETNO stated in a press release.
Tech group Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) criticised the proposal.
“Europeans already pay telecom operators for internet access, they should not have to pay telcos a second time through pricier streaming and cloud services,” Christian Borggreen, CCIA Europe’s senior vice chairman, stated in a press release.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
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