internet lab | Podcast Season: 1 - Episode: 14 / Release date: 26-1-2023

1:1 with MEP Patrick Breyer
European Pirates, Greens/EFA Group

Episode Highlights

00:00 Intro

01:21 Q1 - How do you interpret the relationship between users accessing more content and services online and the impact this may have on telcos?

03:30 Q2 - What are the inherent dangers (if any) of Big Tech being requested to pay for the network of telcos?

05:41 Q3 - Do you think it is appropriate to compare the contribution of Big Tech and telcos in infrastructure, as suggested by some?

08:37 You have 1 minute to deliver a message to the powers that be in the EU on the 'fair contribution' discussion: make your case.

09:23 Outro

Key Quotes

"Under the EU Open Internet regulation (...) users can access whatever content they wish without arbitrary intervention by their Internet provider, and are paying for the right to have this access."

1 / 11

"The variable costs of data volume for telcos is negligible[:] (...) the amount of data that these subscribers send over the network is a fraction of a fraction of a Euro if you look at the cost of it."

2 / 11

"These termination monopolies of telcos, that were used to collect money from anyone reaching out to their customers, were really bad for everyone except for the telcos."

3 / 11

"In 2012, this [network fees] concept was discussed and discarded at the International Telecoms Union. (...) There was a huge backlash at the time."

4 / 11

"EU regulator BEREC has investigated the [fair share] issue several times and has repeatedly come to the conclusion that introducing [network fees] for the Internet is dangerous and unworkable."

5 / 11

"If the Commission still moves ahead with this proposal, it can only be explained by a capture by European telecom interests."

6 / 11

"Former Commissioner Neelie Kroes herself acknowledged (...) that this is not an adversarial relationship, because content providers create the demand for (...) telcos’ products."

7 / 11

"The telecoms industry benefits from the increased Internet usage because they can sell more and more expensive plans to their customers due to the increased use."

8 / 11

"EU regulator BEREC investigated (...) why some countries have a better digital infrastructure than others, and they found that the decisive factor is not the money."

9 / 11

"Adopting a model that allows for, or even mandates, [network fees] would be a disastrous return to the old economic model we used to have for telephony."

10 / 11

"We call on you to develop and pursue a better strategy for promoting connectivity in Europe than introducing these network fees."

11 / 11

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About Our Guest

MEP Patrick Breyer | German MEP - European Pirates, Greens/EFA Group

Dr. Patrick Breyer is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) with the European Pirates, who are part of the Greens and European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) Group. As a member of the Committee for Civil Liberties and Home Affairs and of the Legal Committee, his political work concentrates on safeguarding fundamental rights in the digital age, especially with regard to privacy, citizen participation and democracy. MEP Breyer is a long-term activist in the civil liberties movement for consumer and citizen rights and is notably a member of the German NGO Working Group on Data Retention, as well as the author of the blog ‘Daten-Speicherung.de – minimum data, maximum privacy’.

Relevant Resources

EU Declaration on Digital Rights Agreed

EU Lawmakers Criticise Commission’s Plans to Eliminate Net Neutrality

European Parliament MEP Page

1:1 with MEP Patrick BreyerEuropean Pirates, Greens/EFA Group