The battle over who will pay for EU infrastructure upgrades is heating up, with the telcos saying Big Tech owes them.
The EU is looking to the future and trying to determine how critical network infrastructure will be funded. One of the leading proposals involves charging Big Tech companies, especially those responsible for the bulk of traffic, to help fund the upgrades. Needless to say, such a proposal is not popular with the tech industry.
In a statement to CNBC, however, Michael Trabbia, chief technology and innovation officer for France’s Orange, makes the case that Big Tech companies wouldn’t enjoy the success they do without the telecom operators.
“Without the telcos, without the network, there is no Netflix, there is no Google,” said Trabbia.
Similarly, Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges asked why Big Tech couldn’t “at least a little bit, contribute to the efforts and the infrastructure which we are building here in Europe.”
The proposal is just the latest challenge Big Tech is facing amid growing antitrust scrutiny, privacy, and security concerns.