NGOs oppose European telcos’ calls for tech giants to share infrastructure costs
by Harry Baldock, Total Telecom
Wednesday 08 June 22
In an open letter to European Commissioners Margrethe Vestager and Thierry Breton, 34 non-government organisations (NGOs) argued that making companies like Google and Meta contribute to infrastructure costs could threaten net neutrality
Telecoms companies have long complained about the perceived imbalance of their relationship with major tech companies like Meta, Google, and Netflix, viewing these so-called ‘over-the-top’ (OTT) companies as reaping the financial rewards of their expensive connectivity infrastructure rollouts.
Since at least 2012, European operators have been periodically calling on regulators to step in and force these tech giants to contribute financially to the networks they so rely on, but so far these calls have fallen upon deaf ears.
That is, however, until last month, when European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager announced the EU would investigate whether these tech companies should pay up to ease the burden on operator capex…
Telecoms companies have long complained about the perceived imbalance of their relationship with major tech companies like Meta, Google, and Netflix, viewing these so-called ‘over-the-top’ (OTT) companies as reaping the financial rewards of their expensive connectivity infrastructure rollouts.
Since at least 2012, European operators have been periodically calling on regulators to step in and force these tech giants to contribute financially to the networks they so rely on, but so far these calls have fallen upon deaf ears.
That is, however, until last month, when European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager announced the EU would investigate whether these tech companies should pay up to ease the burden on operator capex…
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