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the EC consultation 📝

On 23 February, the European Commission (EC) launched a public consultation on ‘the future of the connectivity sector’.

This consultation hints at the possible introduction of network fees, also referred to as ‘sending party network pays’ (SPNP). The EC has been responsive to the pressure from Big Telcos to consider this idea for a so-called ‘fair share’ contribution from Big Tech in upcoming legislative efforts.

The relevant consultation questions can be found in ‘Section 4. Fair contribution by all digital players’.

In light of this EC consultation, and the debate in general on a fair share / network fees the internet lab wants to share:

  • one spreadsheet with stakeholder positions; and,
  • two infographics on (1) the arguments put forward and (2) the stakeholders involved.

This overview and the infographics aims to help those interested in taking a deep-dive into the issues at stake, and to support those brave enough to respond to the EC consultation.

spreadsheet 🧰
go to spreadsheet
how to use 🔧

The inner workings of our resource spreadsheet unravelled for you:

Filtering: all spreadsheet fields can be used to filter the resources. In order to apply your temporary filters to the spreadsheet:

  1. Go to ‘Data’ in the top menu, and select ‘Filter views’
  2. Select ‘Create new temporary filter view’ (click ‘dismiss’ on the pop-up message)
  3. All values are selected by default: pick the column(s) that you want to filter and deselect the values that you want to exclude from your custom filtered view
  4. Want to start over again? Just select ‘Default view’ in the ‘Filter views’ sub-menu under ‘Data’

The spreadsheet fields:

  • Date: the spreadsheet is sorted in reverse chronological order, so that you see the latest resources published first
  • Pro/contra: we have tried to split-up the different stances in the debate, and marked each ‘side’ with a dedicated row colour to help distinguish which stakeholders and sides advocate for what in the debate. An explainer:
    • Pro (blue): those stakeholders in favour of  the idea of a fair share / network fees, willing to jeopardise net neutrality
    • Contra (yellow): those stakeholders opposed against the idea of a fair share / network fees, wanting to preserve net neutrality
    • Ambivalent (grey): those that stakeholders that have not yet expressed them selves clearly as pro or contra a fair share / network fees
    • Others (white): these are relevant background resources
  • Category: we have tried to group stakeholders as best as possible in distinct categories, namely: policymakers; regulators; tech/content; telcos; infrastructure; consultancies; think tanks; consumer organisations; NGOs; experts & academics; and others
  • Stakeholder(s): details on the person(s)/organisation(s) taking a stance in the debate.
  • Original link: the link(s) to the resource
  • Details: here we provide the resource type and title and some information about it and/or some snippets from it
infographics 👀
arguments 🗣️

A summary of the arguments on both sides of the fair share / network fees debate.

stakeholders 👥

An overview of the stakeholders currently involved in the debate and if they are pro (in favour) or contra (against) a fair share / network fees.

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PDF
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