In an interview given to the Journal du Dimanche, Grégory Rabuel, CEO of Altice and SFR, mentioned the possibility of charging more for Netflix and GAFAM in proportion to their bandwidth users. The latter asserts that these large groups occupy 60% of traffic in Europe and therefore proposes a strong response from the Commission.
For several years, Netflix alone has occupied 20% of the total bandwidth in France. A finding that is ultimately quite predictable for the streaming giant, which is not the only one to monopolize a large portion of French traffic. Indeed, he and his companions Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft represent no less than 60% of French bandwidth, according to Grégory Rabuel, CEO of Altice and SFR.
However, their invoice is not particularly saltier than a lambda fireplace. A completely abnormal situation for Grégory Rabuel, who affirms that “according to the principle of equity, there is no reason that would justify these six players not paying in proportion to their uses. It is even, in my opinion, a subject linked to that of European digital sovereignty”.
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The CEO of SFR wants to make Netflix and GAFAM pay dearly
In other words, the CEO calls on the competent bodies to take charge of this problem quickly. “The inflation of uses combined with an inflation of investments and costs requires an appropriate response”, he hammers. That’s good: the case is in the pipes. Indeed, following the revelations about Netflix’s bandwidth consumption, some elected officials are starting to think about an agreement between countries on this issue.
Rest assured, there is no question here of charging the average user who would pull a little too much on the rope, even if SFR has already been quite severe on the subject. At the same time, Grégory Rabuel declares that SFR invests 3 billion euros per year to improve the 4G and 5G speed of its subscribers. Regarding fiber, he predicts that it will cover the entire territory by 2025.
Source: The Sunday Journal