European Telecom Companies: "US Big Tech Firms Should Bear Part of Network Costs"

Joint Statement by 13 Companies Including Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone Targeting Netflix, Google, Meta, and Others

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Thirteen major European telecom companies, including Deutsche Telekom, issued a joint statement urging large American content companies such as Netflix and Google (YouTube) to "bear part of the network development costs." Netflix has been in conflict with the domestic telecom industry for years over network usage fees.

According to foreign media on the 29th (local time), the CEOs of 13 European telecom companies, including Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone, stated in the declaration, "Big tech platform companies account for a significant portion of network traffic and generate revenue through it. However, this requires continuous and focused network investment and planning in the telecommunications sector."

They added, "EU citizens can enjoy the fruits of digital innovation through this, but such a model can only be sustained if big tech platforms fairly contribute to network costs."

The telecom companies' appeal was seen as targeting American content companies. Foreign media noted, "Although company names were not directly mentioned in the statement, it is understood that they had American big tech companies such as Netflix, Google, and Meta (Facebook) in mind."

Investment in the European telecommunications sector reached 52.5 billion euros (approximately 70.6246 trillion KRW) last year, marking the highest level in six years. As investment costs for fiber optic and cable networks increased in the 5G era, the burden on the telecom industry grew.

In South Korea, controversy over free-riding on network usage fees by American content providers such as Netflix and Google continues. Legislative discussions regulating network usage fee contracts for overseas content providers (CPs) are underway in the National Assembly, but Netflix maintains its existing position of unwillingness to pay network usage fees in Korea.

SK Broadband is engaged in a legal dispute with Netflix after failing to reach an agreement on network usage fees. SK Broadband's network burden increased 24-fold from 50 gigabits per second (Gbps) in May 2013 to 1200 Gbps in September this year. Recently, Netflix lost the first trial in a lawsuit confirming non-existence of debt but has filed an appeal and is preparing for the second trial.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.