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Italy Supports Big Tech Contribution to Telecoms Funding

By  |  October 24, 2023

Italy’s Industry Minister, Adolfo Urso, expressed broad support for EU proposals that require Big Tech firms to contribute to telecoms infrastructure financing. Urso emphasized the need for all digital transformation beneficiaries to share infrastructure costs fairly. He made these remarks at an EU telecoms minister meeting in Spain. However, he also urged the EU to thoroughly assess whether Big Tech’s content and services overload network infrastructure before enacting any legislation.

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    Telecoms companies argue that major players like Google, Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft, and Amazon should share the high-speed network rollout costs due to their significant internet traffic. This is referred to as fair-share funding by companies like Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, and Telecom Italia, while Big Tech views it as an internet tax.

    EU industry chief Thierry Breton, who supports the network operators’ initiative, will outline a strategy on this issue. The decision to propose legislation will be left to the new Commission after the upcoming European election.

    Source: Reuters