Growing Pressure on Network Usage Fees at Home and Abroad... Attention Focused on Korea's National Assembly Audit

16 European Telecom Operators: "Fiber Optic Cable Prices Double... Annual Investment Burden Soars to 69 Trillion Won"
US FCC Commissioner: "Big Tech Must Fairly Contribute to Network Construction"
Science and ICT Committee Agrees on Summoning Google and Netflix Executives

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] As our National Assembly prepares a bill to mandate 'network usage fees' targeting Google and Netflix, which account for about half of the world's internet traffic, major European telecom companies have drawn attention by jointly stating that "big tech companies occupying the majority of internet traffic should share the network usage fees." The global ICT industry's focus is expected to be on the upcoming National Assembly audit starting next month.

Statement from 16 European Telecom Companies: "No More Free Riding on Networks by Google and Netflix"

According to major foreign media reports on the 27th, 16 European telecom operators, including Germany's Deutsche Telekom, France's Orange, and Spain's Telefonica, issued a statement on the 26th (local time) calling for big tech companies like Google and Netflix to share the costs of network investment.

The CEOs of the 16 European telecom companies urged that the burden of costs is increasing as they invest about 50 billion euros (approximately 69 trillion KRW) annually in building network infrastructure, emphasizing the urgent need for big tech to share these costs. They claimed that the price of fiber optic cables nearly doubled in the first half of the year, and energy prices have also risen, significantly impacting network investments. This statement came as the EU Commission prepares to gather opinions from both telecom companies and big tech ahead of proposing the 'Connected Infrastructure Act,' which would require big tech firms to partially bear the costs of communication infrastructure such as 5G.

The CEOs said, "Timely action is necessary. Europe is missing many opportunities provided by consumer internet, and we must quickly strengthen our capabilities for the metaverse era," adding, "Companies generating the most traffic should fairly contribute to the costs currently imposed on European networks."

U.S. FCC Also States "Big Tech Companies Should Fairly Contribute to Network Construction and Management"

On the same day, even in the U.S., which has been siding with big tech, opinions emerged that companies like Google and Netflix need to contribute to network investments. Brandon Carr, a commissioner of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), argued that big tech should contribute to network infrastructure investments.

According to the FCC, Commissioner Carr met with EU officials in Brussels, Belgium, stating, "Big tech gains enormous benefits from high-speed networks and accounts for the largest portion of network traffic in Europe and the U.S. I hope international support will expand to ensure big tech fairly contributes to network construction and management."

This stance by the FCC is notable as it contrasts sharply with that of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The USTR sent a letter to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy just before U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Korea, expressing deep concerns about the 'network usage fee' bill. The letter argued that the bill being pursued in the National Assembly could be seen as regulating specific U.S. companies and might escalate into a trade issue. The USTR is a presidential agency responsible for U.S. international trade negotiations.

Global ICT Industry's Focus Turns to Korean National Assembly Audit

As pressure mounts domestically for big tech to bear network usage fees, the global IT industry's attention is expected to focus on the National Assembly audit scheduled for next month.

According to a staff member from the office of a member of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee, lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties have agreed to summon YouTube Asia-Pacific Vice President Gautam Anand and Netflix Policy Head Dean Garfield as witnesses for the audit. However, the list of general witnesses and reference persons has not yet been finalized, so no resolution has been reached. The committee is expected to summon the two big tech executives, who have expressed negative opinions on the network usage fee bill, to conduct related questioning during the audit.

Currently, seven bills related to network usage fees have been proposed in the National Assembly. On the 20th, a public hearing was held to review amendments to the Telecommunications Business Act concerning payment for information and communication network usage fees, and on the 26th, lawmakers Park Wan-joo and Kim Young-joo held a meeting to continue discussions for legislation.