13 European operators, including Orange, believe that technology companies should help them finance part of their networks, since they use them extensively.

Operators want financial assistance for their networks

This demand is being made as the telecoms sector faces heavy investments in the deployment of 5G, fiber optics and other cable networks in order to withstand the streams of data and services provided by Netflix, YouTube, Facebook and others. many others. In 2020, operators’ investments in Europe stood at 52.5 billion euros, a peak in six years.

“A significant portion and growth of traffic is generated and monetized by large technology platforms, but this requires continued and intensive investment in networks as well as planning by the telecommunications sector , ” wrote the CEOs of 13 major European operators. . “This model (…) can only be viable if these large platforms also participate equitably in network costs” , they added in a joint statement.

No tech company is explicitly named, but publicly traded groups like Netflix and Facebook appear to be targeted

Among the signatories of the letter are the CEOs of Telefonica, KPN, BT Group, Telekom Austria, Proximus, Telenor, Altice Portugal, Telia Company, Swisscom and therefore Orange.