Europe to consult on making Big Tech pay for the networks it floods

[tangor]

The European Union yesterday decided it's time to start "laying the ground for the transformation of the connectivity sector" in the region with three initiatives – one of which codifies the idea that Big Tech should pay for the networks that carry its traffic.

Carriers around the world point out that they are low-margin businesses that must find mountains of capital every few years to build new mobile networks as next-gen standards emerge – and that those networks make it possible for the likes of Google, Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Netflix to enjoy vastly superior margins and profits. Big Tech also dominates network traffic, collectively generating more than half of the stuff traversing carriers' wires and fibers.

[theregister.com...]

Interesting take... We know g (and others) have their own expenses, build their own networks, pay freight on the backbone tier, etc, but those who want to "use" that content now want to charge for what the serps provide?

Waiting to see how these talks progress ... and if folks can see it is yet another ham-fisted way to get their hands in big tech's wallet...