Session
Round Table - 90 Min
This session aims at discussing the so called “fair share” debate, which is rising in popularity especially in the European Union and South Korea and moving rapidly to LatAm; the session will also touch upon zero rating schemes, especially popular in the countries of the Global South. The aim of the session is to adopt an evidence based approach to discuss to what extent fair share and zero rating can be beneficial for the internet economy and to whether they contribute positively or negatively to the sustainability of the internet ecosystem. Furthermore, panellists will explore how these two core issues connect with broader debate on Internet openness vs Internet fragmentation. The conversation on network fees is key for the future of the Internet, because effectively it is a conversation about changing the topology of the Internet. Is this something we should be doing? Are stakeholders fully aware of the multiiple dimensions of such proposals?
To facilitate interaction between onsite and online speakers and attendees, we will leverage a hybrid event platform that provides real-time communication channels. For the onsite attendees, we will project the virtual attendees and their questions/comments onto the screen to ensure that both groups can engage with each other. In addition, we will use a moderated chat on Zoom for online participants to interact with onsite speakers and vice versa. The session will be designed with both online and onsite participants in mind. The session will be structured with interactive segments to engage all attendees, such as Q&As and debates to cater both online and onsite participants. To increase participation and interaction during the session, we plan to use an online document to allow participants to contribute their thoughts in a shared digital space. We will also utilize social media platforms for pre-session and post-session engagement, such as Twitter and Instagram for live updates.
Prof Luca Belli, FGV Law School, Rio de Janeiro
- Kamila Kloc, acting director, digital decade and connectivity, DG CONNECT, European Union (TBC)
- Artur Coimbra, Member of the Board of ANATEL, Brazil
- Camila Leite, Brazilian Consumers Association (IDEC)
- Jean Jaques Sahel, Asia-Pacific Information policy lead and Global telecom policy lead,Google
- Maarit Palovirta Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs, ETNO
- Thomas Lohninger, Executive Director, Epicenter.works
- Konstantinos Komaitis, non-resident fellow, the Atlantic Council
- KS Park, Professor, University of Korea
Moderator, Luca Belli, Professor, Center for Technology and Society at FGV
9.c
Targets: This session will investigate the extent to which the so-called “fair share” proposals and “zero rating” plans can contribute to sustainably increase access to information and communications technology and provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries.
Report
The purpose of this session was to explore the so called “fair share” debate, which is rising in popularity especially in the European Union and South Korea and moving rapidly to Latin America. The session also discussed the connection between fair share and zero rating schemes, especially popular in the countries of the Global South.
The session adopted an evidence-based approach, featuring multiple stakeholder perspectives, discussing to what extent fair share and zero rating can be beneficial for the internet economy and to whether they contribute positively or negatively to the sustainability of the internet ecosystem.
Furthermore, panelists will explore how these two core issues connect with broader debate on Internet openness vs Internet fragmentation. The session was structured according to the following agenda:
Brief intro by Luca Belli, Professor and Coordinator CTS-FGV (5 min)
First slot of presentations (6 or 7 minutes each)
- Artur Coimbra, Member of the Board of ANATEL, Brazil
- Camila Leite, Brazilian Consumers Association (IDEC)
- Jean Jaques Sahel, Asia-Pacific Information policy lead and Global telecom policy lead, Google
- KS Park, Professor, University of Korea
Q&A break (10 to 12 minutes)
Second slot of presentation (6 or 7 minutes each)
- Maarit Palovirta Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs, ETNO
- Thomas Lohninger, Executive Director, Epicenter.works
- Konstantinos Komaitis, non-resident fellow, the Atlantic Council
Participants stressed that, over the past decade, we have witnessed an increasing concentration in few internet platforms, with regard to social media or cloud computing, and such players generate a very relevant percentage of internet traffic. There is a wide range of ongoing regulatory initiatives aimed at frame large platforms, but over the past two years an additional type of regulatory proposal has been surfacing: imposing network fees to large platforms so that they pay their “fair share” of network related costs.
In countries such as Brazil, 95% Of users utilize internet access primarily for instant messaging and social Media (e.g. WhatsApp Facebook and Instagram are installed on 95, 80 and 70% of Brazilian smartphone respectively) and virtually all video recordings shared online in Brazil are hosted on YouTube.
Large platforms generate enormous amount of traffic, but at the same time, they contribute to network infrastructure costs e.g. by building undersea cables or content delivery networks
The most traffic intense platforms have been zero rated for almost a decade by most operators of the world, including those currently proposing “fair share contributions” and in most Global South countries zero rated models are still very common.
Some relevant points that need debate and clarification:
1) large platforms generate a lot of traffic because they have a lot of customers, not because they engage in any illegal or inappropriate practice; It is true that in most countries they have extremely low level of taxation, compared with their profits, but to cope with distortion it would be much wiser to review their taxation regime rather than simply shift part of their revenues to interne access providers.
2) Some regulators or operators have portrayed large platforms as free riders of internet infrastructure. This it is not correct, as platforms also invest enormously in infrastructure, e.g. by building submarine cables and large content delivery networks that are essential to maintain good quality of service good user experience;
3) Participants stressed that the topic of fair share with the topic of zero-rating are connected as large platforms have not become responsible for such enormous amount of traffic by chance, but the most traffic intense apps have been zero rated for almost a decade by most operators of the world, as we demonstrated with an empirical analysis, which was to annual output of this coalition already in already in 2018.
Actions suggested:
More comprehensive analyses of interconnection market is needed, including assessing the role of content delivery network
Increased multistakeholder confrontation to foster a better understanding of the issues at stake and whether proposed solutions such as fair share are de facto needed or not.