On Thursday, Meta Platforms stated that European Union telecoms operators should consider subsidies from Big Tech as a final resort when seeking financial assistance from U.S. companies to cover their network expenses.
For the past twenty years, telecom operators like Deutsche Telekom, Orange, and Telefonica have been advocating for the involvement of U.S. tech giants in funding the deployment of 5G and broadband infrastructure, emphasizing their significant contribution to internet traffic in the region.
Earlier this year, the European Commission initiated a consultation to explore the possibility of imposing financial responsibilities on tech giants towards the expenses of Europe’s telecoms network.
According to Meta and similar companies, implementing such a measure would not effectively address the financial challenges faced by telecom operators and would overlook the substantial investments made by tech companies.
In response to the European Commission‘s exploratory consultation on network fees, Meta emphasized that telecom operators receiving subsidies should be subject to rigorous regulatory supervision. This oversight should include a procedure to ensure that the funds are exclusively allocated for network investments.
Earlier this month, sources informed Reuters that the majority of European Union countries have declined the proposal to impose a network fee on Big Tech.
Meta said “the Commission should first require a demonstration by any telco seeking subsidies that it has first engaged with CAPs (content application providers) in good faith to reach technical, non-subsidy solutions”.
It added any subsidies be awarded by a tender to ensure availability to all network operators, not just the large players.
“Incumbent operators receiving the functional equivalent of government bailouts should have additional restrictions imposed on them such as elimination of executive bonuses, caps on compensation, freezes on dividends,” it said.
Meanwhile, Meta Platforms announced on Tuesday its plan to grant researchers access to certain components of a recently developed artificial intelligence model. This model, described as “human-like,” exhibits enhanced capability in analyzing and effectively completing unfinished images, surpassing the accuracy of current models.
The technology giant’s advanced AI model, known as I-JEPA, employs a unique approach to address the challenge of completing unfinished images. Unlike conventional generative AI models that rely solely on neighboring pixels, I-JEPA leverages comprehensive background knowledge about the world.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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Updated: 16 Jun 2023, 09:34 AM IST