Lobby group wants US firms taxed for bandwidth use
Lobby group wants US firms taxed for bandwidth use
Recent reports from Cnet claim that the European Telecommunications Network Operators Association (ETNOA) is calling or major internet firms to be taxed for the bandwidth they use.
The controversial move could see firms like Google, Netflix and Facebook, charged a fee for the amount of bandwidth they use in when communicating with customers outside of the US.
According to the reports by Cnet, the ETNOA - a lobbying organisation that represents 35 European telecoms firms - submitted a proposal to the UN’s Internet Telecommunication Union. The organisation is suggesting a change to the current status quo, which involves mutual agreements taking place between the major internet service providers. If the changes were to be brought in in the EU, these major players would have to embark on individual negotiations to allow information to flow, which could cost them billion of pounds.
Supporters of the plan claim that US internet firms are using masses of international bandwidth for free and should pay to use bandwidth for customers outside the US.
The US government is already opposed to the plans, due largely to the fact that many of the major players are US firms. The move could also mean that nations with less cash could find themselves with limited access to popular online services, according to critics.
One such critic, Cisco’s Robert Pepper, told Cnet that this ‘sender pays’ model could see firms opting out of connecting with users in developing countries as they would become unaffordable to communicate with.
