The Mobile World Congress (MWC), which is being held this week in Barcelona, serves as a
platform for Spain to champion the claim of telecommunications companies
so that Internet giants, such as Google or Netflix, pay a contribution for using the networks.
José María Álvarez-Pallete
, president of Telefónica, verbalized yesterday in the Catalan capital what is already a clamor among the operators when describing the cooperation of the big technology companies as "fair".
The p
petition formulated by the telecommunications companies, supported by the Government through the vice president
Nadia Calvino
It is logical and pertinent.
And, in addition, it is accompanied by a
historic alliance signed between Telefónica and 20 other telecommunications operators
to create
OpenGateway
.
With this ambitious initiative, signed in the context of the mobile operator organization GSMA, telecommunications companies seek to make their networks profitable.
The agreement provides for a common platform that
telecos
will make available to developers and that will allow them to add an additional income line.
This step widens the opportunities for citizens and businesses.
C.
You must remember that the six largest companies in this sector accumulate 60% of the use of the networks and that they do so without paying anything
.
Therefore, the request of the telecommunications companies is not only fair for basic market reasons, but also because the contribution of the digital colossi would preserve competition and guarantee the extension of connectivity networks.
Pallete's words come after Brussels took the first step to make effective the contribution of the
bigtech
through a corrective mechanism not yet fixed.
And this for the sake of a new regulation, ultimately, aimed at promoting European giants capable of competing with those of the US and China.
the battle between
telecos
and technology is settled within the framework of the MWC, which is already much more than the international mobile fair.
Although it presents figures that are even lower than those prior to the pandemic, the MWC has become not only a must for the technology sector, but also a mainstay of the Catalan capital.
Neither the instability caused over almost a decade of the independence process nor the insolvency of the left-wing populism that governs Barcelona City Council have undermined the potential of a congress that will continue in this city, at least until 2030.
.
Barcelona's loss of direction is the result of the erratic management of
Ada Colau
, weighed down by insecurity and housing prices.
Both the mayor and
Pere Aragones
they planted the King on Sunday in the official salute, while
Pedro Sanchez
he was absent from the traditional tour with Felipe VI at the inauguration of the MWC.
A sector such as technology, the driving force behind the digital economy, deserves that all institutions live up to their responsibilities.
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