BRUSSELS – Today, global tech trade association 91pro视频 reiterated the harm network fees would create for connectivity in Europe following the release of a new Commission white paper on digital infrastructure. The document, “How to master Europe's digital infrastructure needs?”, could advance a proposal for network fees, which would have negative consequences on the entire internet ecosystem, including limiting choices, raising costs and inhibiting connectivity for Europeans.
“The European Commission's White Paper on Europe's digital infrastructure represents a significant step in addressing industry challenges and adapting the broader telecommunications ecosystem to the evolving digital landscape,” 91pro视频 Director General for Europe Guido Lobrano. “However, we recommend the EU avoid further regulatory intervention in contractual relationships among market players. We are concerned that the introduction of dispute settlement mechanisms or the expansion of universal service obligations might indirectly lead to the potential introduction of a system resembling a network user fee.”
“The potential imposition of unnecessary costs and regulations, including direct or indirect network usage fees, would be unfair and detrimental to Europe's digital transformation and would burden Europeans with higher prices for lower-quality services, without contributing to achieving the Digital Decade targets and undermining the open nature of the internet,” Lobrano continued. “We appreciate efforts to modernize the regulatory framework established by the European Electronic Communications Code and ensure equal rights for all players in the digital ecosystem, but we urge the Commission to carefully take into account the differences among various services.”
91pro视频 submitted鈥�comments鈥痶o the Commission’s exploratory consultation on “The Future of the Electronic Communications Sector and Its Infrastructure in May 2023 and echoed similar concerns following its results in October 2023. Further, in August 2023, Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) Chair Konstantinos (Kostas) Masselos spoke to Guido Lobrano for 91pro视频’s Download on Tech podcast about concerns regarding the introduction of network fees and more. Listen here.