Big Tech & Over-The-Top Media From a Telecom Perspective
Reflecting on my more than thirty years in the telecommunications industry, I look at its past and look towards its projected future.
In 1991, I began my first chapter in the telecommunications field with Esat Telecom, an Irish telecommunications consortium, which is now BT Ireland, where I was Chairman and CEO. Soon after, I started my second chapter, founding Digicel, a Digital Operator and telecom provider, in 2001. Today, I am equally passionate about information and communications technology (ICT) as I originally was decades ago. Ultimately, we ought to continue to spread accurate insight for more transparency, honesty and public awareness and create a sense of shared commitment between key players in the industry, especially as it relates to socioeconomics.
Motioning Change With Fair Share
Last year, at the 38th CANTO Annual Conference & Trade Exhibition from 16 July to 19 July 2023, I was asked about industry hurdles regarding Big Tech and how we need them to participate in infrastructure and broadband development in the Caribbean. On one hand, over-the-top media (OTTs) brands like YouTube don’t pay corporation tax, sales tax and regulatory fees, nor do they contribute to local employment. However, they still generate substantial revenue.
One clear example that puts this dilemma into perspective is that although Facebook stirred up US$12 ARPU (average revenue per user) per month per user, it carried no network costs. Personally, I remain optimistic as the nine largest Caribbean operators have joined forces to present a cost-recovery plan to CANTO and CARICOM to pressure Big Tech into contributing their fair share.
Just this past January, at CANTO Connect and 40th Annual General Meeting (AGM) Celebration, impactful and important conversations continued amongst change agents and figureheads under the umbrella “Towards A Sustainable Digital Economy.” Collaborative efforts delved into how ICT providers and telecommunications companies, also referred to as Telcos, can bolster global digitization and sustainability.
Here, I had the privilege of sharing the appointment of former Telecommunication Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) chief executive officer Lisa Agard as the Chair of the C9 Initiative, a collection of regional telecommunications operators that will function as the CANTO Working Group on Fair Share. Topics of interest for this group include driven costs from over-the-top media service, fair negotiations, local delivery networks, and as previously mentioned, economic development for the Caribbean.
Agard has backed up this agenda in media outlets by pointing out that, “The big six global tech companies—Alphabet, Meta, Apple, Amazon, TikTok, Netflix—earned a combined total of US$11.5 billion in the Caribbean, and they are responsible for 67% of the region’s Internet traffic.” However, “the Caribbean network operators have been investing over US$500 million per year in network upgrades and improvements since 2017”, not Big Tech.
Thank You, Digicel Foundation
After emphasising community development, I want to take a moment to extend my sincerest thanks to everyone who has been a part of the non-profit charitable organisation Digicel Foundation (est. 2004), which has allowed Digicel to touch the hearts and minds of citizens in Jamaica, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago, and community spaces, too. The work and dedication of our partners, supplies and joint donors in the Caribbean is immeasurable.