Google today refuted calls by European telecom operators to want big technology companies to fund their network costs, saying it is a 10-year-old idea that is not good for consumers. Moreover, Google has invested millions of dollars in Internet infrastructure.
European telecom operators have long argued that U.S. tech companies such as Google, Meta, and Netflix, which account for more than half of internet traffic, should bear some of the cost of upgrading their infrastructure. Earlier today, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone, Telefonica, and more than 10 other European telecom operators made the strongest call to jointly ask these big tech companies to share network costs, especially as the EU faces an energy crisis. , but also to achieve climate change goals.
Subsequently, the European Commission also said it would seek feedback from the telecommunications and technology industries on the issue in the coming months before deciding whether to make any legislative proposals.
Matt Brittin, president of business and operations for Google EMEA, responded that the idea, proposed 10 years ago, could undermine Europe's net neutrality, or open Internet access. , is not good for consumers.
"The introduction of the 'Sender Pays' principle is not a new idea and would upend many of the principles of an open internet," Britting said in a speech to a conference organised by telecom lobbying group ETNO. view similar to what we heard 10 or more years ago, and we haven’t seen new data that changes that.” Brittin also said this could have a negative impact on consumers, especially in when prices rise.
Britting said that as YouTube's owner, Google has done its part to make telecom providers more efficient by carrying 99 percent of traffic. To this end, Google invested millions of euros. "In 2021, we have invested more than 23 billion euros in capital expenditures, the bulk of which is on infrastructure," he said.
This includes 6 large data centers in Europe, 20 submarine optical cables worldwide (5 in Europe), and caching digital content for local networks in 20 European regions.
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