EU regulators’ group sides with Big Tech against telcos’ network fee push

The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), a group of EU telecoms regulators, criticized a push by telecoms providers to get Big Tech to contribute to the cost of the rollout of 5G and broadband in Europe on Friday and expressed doubt that such a move would help the bloc achieve its connectivity goals.

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The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), which consists of EU telecoms regulators, has criticised the efforts of telecom providers to make Big Tech companies contribute to the cost of 5G and broadband rollout in Europe. BEREC expressed doubts about the effectiveness of such a move in achieving the bloc’s connectivity goals. The European Commission is currently examining this issue, highlighting the significant conflict between Big Tech and Europe’s main telecom operators. BEREC shares the scepticism of charging corporations a network fee and supports the claims made by Big Tech.

According to BEREC, it appears uncertain whether requiring content and application providers (CAPs) to pay Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will effectively help member states achieve their connectivity objectives. Instead, it is more likely that ISPs in well-served areas will benefit the most from this approach.