KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo: "Global CP Network Investment Should Be Shared"

GSMA Board Approval... Pressure Expected on Netflix and Others to Pay Network Usage Fees
Possibility of Government-Led Fund Realization

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Regarding the global network usage fee dispute intensified by the ‘Netflix incident,’ KT and other global telecommunications operators have collectively expressed the opinion that ‘global content providers (CPs) should share the burden of network investment.’

On the 1st (local time), KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo held a press conference at the ‘Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022’ held in Barcelona, Spain, and announced this. CEO Koo is also a board member of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), which organizes MWC.

Previously, in the market, there were criticisms that global CPs, which impose enormous traffic burdens through 4K videos and other content, should share the burden as the increasing traffic load becomes excessive for the global telecommunications industry. In particular, the European telecommunications industry issued official statements and raised political voices. In Korea, SK Broadband has been engaged in a legal dispute with Netflix, and voices calling for ‘sharing network usage fees’ have grown, especially in the National Assembly.

Typically, the GSMA board reviews and approves annual reports from its subordinate study groups at each regular meeting. This year, the policy group expressed the opinion that global CPs need to share network investment costs, and the GSMA board gave final approval. Further discussions are needed regarding future legal procedures. Regarding the term ‘network usage fee,’ CEO Koo pointed out, "It can cause misunderstandings," adding, "It is not a fee unilaterally received by telecom operators, but means sharing network investment costs together to increase benefits returned to users."

CEO Koo also conveyed that there is a consensus within GSMA on the need for CPs to share network investment costs amid the controversy over CPs’ network usage fees. He said, "The GSMA policy group proposed solutions such as government-led fund formation in each country and global CPs contributing to the fund, and the GSMA board adopted this," adding, "Telecom operators have reached a principle that those who generate a lot of traffic and earn money (global CPs) should also share network investment costs."

On this day, CEO Koo presented KT’s achievements over the past two years and its future outlook. He said, "In the past, KT was focused on telecommunications, but when I took office, I decided to expand the playing field in the DIGICO (digital platform company) sector and the B2B market," adding, "We will continue to expand the playing field and grow centered on businesses such as artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation (DX), media and content, and finance."

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