Telecom companies in Europe want Google, Apple, Meta, Netflix, Amazon and Microsoft to pay for 5G

Telecom giants in the European region have been asking for a ‘fair share’ fee from technology companies, saying that it could be used to develop better infrastructure and help 5G rollout. These companies have been lobbying for years for leading technology companies to contribute to funding 5G and broadband roll-out, saying that they use a huge part of the region’s internet traffic. Google, Apple, Meta, Netflix, Amazon and Microsoft are said to account for more than half of data internet traffic.

Telecom giants argue that large internet firms have built their businesses on the back of the billion in investments that telcos have made in internet infrastructure. Now according to a draft proposal by the telecoms industry wants to make it binding for these companies to pay for the rollout of 5G and broadband across Europe

The proposal is reportedly part of feedback to the European Commission which launched a consultation into the issue in February. The deadline for responses is May 19. The document, which was reviewed by news agency Reuters, and has not been published, was compiled by lobbying groups GSMA and ETNO. Their members include Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, Telecom Italia and Vodafone.

“We propose a clear threshold to ensure that only large traffic generators, who impact substantially on operators’ networks, fall within the scope,” GSMA said. “Large traffic generators would only be those companies that account for more than 5% of an operator’s yearly average busy hour traffic measured at the individual network level,” the draft reportedly adds.

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Telecom giants in the European region have been asking for a ‘fair share’ fee from technology companies, saying that it could be used to develop better infrastructure and help 5G rollout. These companies have been lobbying for years for leading technology companies to contribute to funding 5G and broadband roll-out, saying that they use a huge part of the region’s internet traffic. Google, Apple, Meta, Netflix, Amazon and Microsoft are said to account for more than half of data internet traffic.

Telecom giants argue that large internet firms have built their businesses on the back of the billion in investments that telcos have made in internet infrastructure. Now according to a draft proposal by the telecoms industry wants to make it binding for these companies to pay for the rollout of 5G and broadband across Europe

The proposal is reportedly part of feedback to the European Commission which launched a consultation into the issue in February. The deadline for responses is May 19. The document, which was reviewed by news agency Reuters, and has not been published, was compiled by lobbying groups GSMA and ETNO. Their members include Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, Telecom Italia and Vodafone.

“We propose a clear threshold to ensure that only large traffic generators, who impact substantially on operators’ networks, fall within the scope,” GSMA said. “Large traffic generators would only be those companies that account for more than 5% of an operator’s yearly average busy hour traffic measured at the individual network level,” the draft reportedly adds.

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end of article