Page 142 - SAMENA Trends - September-October 2022

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

EU Regulators Group Against Big Tech Paying for Telco Infrastructure

A group of European telecom regulators method is justified given the current state lobby group ETNO - the European Telecom-
does not support the idea of having big of the market," the BEREC conclusions said. munications Network Operators, which rep-
tech firms such as Google and Netflix pay- The telecommunications industry has ar- resents Deutsche Telekom, Orange Group,
ing for telecommunications infrastructure, gued Google, Netflix, Meta, Amazon, Micro- Telefonica and others - rejected the BEREC
it said in published initial findings. The find- soft and Apple should pay for a "fair share" findings as outdated and said it would sub-
ings by the Body of European Regulators of telecom infrastructure as their services mit new evidence to the Commission to
for Electronic Communications (BEREC) make up more than half of internet traffic. support its position. BEREC's findings said
come as the European Commission is de- However, digital rights groups fear that if the internet had proved resilient to chang-
bating whether internet platforms should the big tech firms fund infrastructure, they ing traffic patterns in the past and following
be obliged to fund digital infrastructure will also strike deals with telecom firms to ETNO's proposals "could be of significant
such as 5G telecoms networks, given they give their own traffic preferential treatment, harm". EU industry chief Thierry Breton has
make heavy use of it. "BEREC has found no undermining the principle of net neutrality. said the European Union will review the
evidence that such (a direct compensation) In a reaction to the BEREC findings, telecom matter early in 2023.

EU Consults Stakeholders on Semiconductor Value Chain

The European Commission and the 27 ue chain as part of the proposal for a Eu- ing on semiconductors to deliver their prod-
Member States have announced the launch ropean Chips Act. Companies active in the ucts or services are invited to submit views,
of a consultation on the semiconductor val- semiconductor supply chain and firms rely- evidence and data before 11 November.

CTU Inks Deal to Accelerate Digital Transformation in the Region

THE Caribbean Telecommunications Union development of regional development as a tionships to further accelerate its existing
(CTU) signed a joint declaration with the key long-term objective." The signing took 21st-century government initiative, in which
Organization of American States (OAS) place at the International Telecommuni- it supports and works with Caribbean gov-
to accelerate digital transformation in the cation Union's Plenipotentiary Conference ernments to improve government services
region. The signing was done through the 2022. The declaration seeks to enable digi- so that they are personalized and respon-
OAS' Inter-American Telecommunication tal transformation in the Americas through sive thereby enhancing citizens' end-to-end
Commission (CITEL); the Latin American the promotion of regulatory frameworks experience of public services. Similarly,
Telecommunications Regulators Forum focused on user needs, with special at- the CTU will promote and support actions
(REGULATEL); and the Regional Tele- tention being given to vulnerable groups, to unleash the potential of digital transfor-
communications Technical Commission unserved/underserved areas, remote pop- mation among its partner organizations.
(COMTELCA), a specialized institution of ulations and people with disabilities. The Importantly, the joint declaration also es-
the Central American Integration System CTU said this collaboration will enable the tablishes the framework for the parties to
(SICA). CTU Secretary General Rodney Tay- union to develop special cooperative rela- develop a harmonized telecommunication/
lor said "the CTU strongly supports multi-
lateral collaboration with inter-American
agencies because it provides opportunities
to explore areas of cooperation on matters
of digital transformation and harmonized
regulation policies, which are all critical to
the region's social and economic develop-
ment." He added, "The CTU looks forward
to strengthening collaboration and promot-
ing the interests of the Caribbean among
inter-American organizations. The region
needs to learn from each other's experienc-
es, know what works within the context of
small developing states and focus on the

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