Page 79 - SAMENA Trends - July-August 2022

ARTICLE SAMENA TRENDS

Figure 5: Socio-economic effect of an annual OTT contribution

where the fundamental rights of users are peans”. In this vein, to meet its ambitious the costs of public goods, services, and in-
protected, where a level playing field for high-speed Internet targets for 5G and fibre frastructure” a reality. In an open letter the
businesses is created and where control rollout, the European Commission plans to operators stated that “The investment bur-
over digital ecosystems by few large plat- present a new Connectivity Infrastructure den must be shared in a more proportion-
[20]
forms is curbed and kept in check. On 26 Act in the fall of 2022, which will include ate way. Today, video streaming, gaming
January 2022, the Commission launched measures that oblige certain online plat- and social media originated by a few digi-
the European Declaration on Digital Rights form services to contribute to the costs of tal content platforms accounts for over 70
and Principles for the Digital Decade , 5G. Strong advocacy in this regard for a percent of all traffic running over the net-
[22]
[21]
which specifically calls for “developing ade- “fair share” has come from network oper- works. Digital platforms are profiting from
quate frameworks so that all market actors ators, in particular in Europe. In February hyper scaling business models at little cost
benefiting from the digital transformation 2022, four of Europe’s leading Operators, while network operators shoulder the re-
assume their social responsibilities and Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Telefonica, quired investments in connectivity. At the
make a fair and proportionate contribution and Orange, have called on the EU to intro- same time our retail markets are in perpet-
to the costs of public goods, services and duce rules at EU level to make the principle ual decline in terms of profitability.” In
[23]
infrastructures, for the benefit of all Euro- of a “fair and proportionate contribution to the Caribbean, “Fair Share” was discussed
To put recommendations into actions, Smart Africa by the industry at the recent CANTO con-
[24]
ference. There was general agreement
together with SAMENA Council during ITU’s World that investors will not support investment
Telecommunications Development Conference 2022 in 5G networks in the region at present
(“WTDC22”) in Kigali at the Partner to Connect (“P2C”) and that a regulatory solution to Fair Share
is required. In South Korea, a national law
Roundtable announced its joint pledge to advocate and drive to create regulatory conditions for a fairer
the implementation of the first strategic recommendation contribution to network costs is being dis-
cussed, following a court ruling that Netflix
“Broadening the Base” of the BBCom’s WG Report on 21st was abusing its market power by refusing
Century Financing, Funding, and Investment models to to pay a local broadband network operator,
SKB, for the use of its network to deliver
close the connectivity gap. Netflix services to consumers. [25] And in

79 JULY-AUGUST 2022