Advancements in the Discussion on “Fair Contribution” to Network Investment: A Focus on European Proposals

Abstract

To address the surge in traffic volume due to the proliferation of broadband, communication network enhancement is demanded, and since the late 2000s, there has been a great deal of discussion between OTT providers, who are the primary beneficiaries of network development, and network operators, who are the main investors, primarily in Europe and the United States. Firstly, in 2012, the “Sending Party Network Pays” was proposed in Europe for the ITU’s World Conference on International Telecommunications. In 2020, a legal dispute over cost sharing between Netflix and SK Broadband began in Korea, followed by the European Commissionʼs launch of a debate on “fair contributions” in 2023. The European Commission declared its goal to spread gigabit networks and next-generation wireless high-speed networks by 2030, demanding fair contributions from all market participants. This paper aims to contribute to telecom policy in Japan, which may face similar issues, by summarizing the related debate in Europe.