On Friday, the EU telecommunications regulators’ organization BEREC criticized telecoms providers’ push to force Big Tech to pay for 5G and internet rollouts in Europe, saying it doubted such a step would help the bloc fulfill its connectivity ambitions.
The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC)’s statements to the European Commission, which is investigating the problem, demonstrate Big Tech’s high-stakes battle with Europe’s main telecoms providers.
BEREC echoed Big Tech’s concerns about a required network cost. In addition, BEREC questioned whether required contributions from CAPs to ISPs would help member states fulfill connectivity targets.
“Rather, ISPs in well-supplied areas would benefit most.”
Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Orange (ORAN.PA), Telefonica (TEF.MC), and Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) have been actively lobbying Big Tech to cover some network costs.
Google, Apple, Meta Platforms, Netflix, Amazon.com, and Microsoft, which telcos say account for more than half of all internet traffic, have rejected the proposal.