The burning question of financing telecom networks has been on the table in many European countries for months. In August 2022, France, Italy and Spain expressed their willingness to tax GAFAMs for assistance in developing their network infrastructure.
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market of the European Commission, also explained that this is one of the main projects to build “the one”.new digital space“. i have to say this Google, Meta, Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft alone represents 55% of global trafficAccording to a study by the European Telecommunications Network Operators Association (ETNO).
Every year, French operators spend 15 to 28 billion euros maintaining and improving network infrastructures. An effort that GAFAM is not currently participating in.
A tax to finance networks doesn’t make sense for Netflix
But Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters took advantage of the open forum at MWC 2023 in Barcelona to voice his opinion on the matter. eyes, The success of streaming platforms is also beneficial for operators. Why this ? Because subscribers of platforms like Netflix, Amazon or Disney+ are often willing to pay more to have a quality internet connection (and thus have the best experience on different services).
To support your opinion, The executive also discusses the success of Internet offerings that include Netflix. “We are partners with more than 160 telecommunications companies and ISPs worldwide, many of which offer their customers a direct subscription, including Netflix. Consumers love these packs and it shows the value we represent when we collaborate.” provides.
Also read: SFR wants Netflix and GAFAM to pay for high bandwidth consumption
Also, the boss says that the margin of service is “It is significantly lower than that of Bouygues Telecom or Deutsche Telekom. It’s perfectly arguable that these telecommunications companies should pay the entertainment companies for the content, because a tax like the one they propose could have very harmful effects.”
This tax will inevitably reduce Netflix’s envelope for creating new content. About $60 billion each year since 2017. Finally, Greg Peters this tax should also be applied to traditional TV channelsgrowing numbers”go with the flow” and in VOD “To provide customers with the same benefits as the Internet”.
Source : Mobile World Live
