The European Union’s Commissioner for the Internal Market has insisted the trading block is not taking sides over the funding of future 5G and broadband development.
In a speech to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Breton stood by a controversial consultation that looks to Big Tech to contribute towards the funding.
As previously reported in Broadband TV News, European Telcos including Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica and Telecom Italia have been lobbying for Big Tech to contribute towards the funding.
Breton told delegates that the “connectivity revolution is putting the traditional model of vertical integration into question”. He warned that under the massive transformation needed in the sector amid AI-driven smart cities, the current so-called next-generation networks were not up to the task.
“This is the time to collaborate between telcos and Big Tech,” said Telefonica CEO Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete in the same session.
However, representatives of Meta and Netflix who are also in Barcelona argue that they are already contributing handsomely to the development of future systems.
The Dutch government today became the first to break ranks in criticising the Breton consultation warning against imposing any levy on big tech.
