GSMA restates Big Tech infrastructure stance
October 13, 2022
By Colin Mann
Mobile industry trade body the GSMA has issued a statement saying that it strongly believes that the future of Europe’s digital economy requires action to ensure that those Big Tech players, driving large and increasing traffic volumes over European networks, make a fair contribution to infrastructure investment.
It says the publication of the BEREC (Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications) preliminary assessment into the underlying assumptions of payments from content and application providers (CAPs) to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) fails to provide a pathway for Europe to realistically meet its agreed Digital Decade targets.
BEREC’s assessment on the implementation of a ‘direct compensation’ mechanism proposed by ETNO members found no evidence that such mechanism is justified given the current state of the market. BEREC believes that the ETNO members’ proposal could present various risks for the Internet ecosystem.
“The GSMA remains optimistic that Europe’s policymakers will prioritise the interests of European citizens in their analysis of this issue. We will continue to engage, alongside our members, in any forthcoming consultation process to ensure a fair and robust digital future for Europe,” it concludes.