Proposals to pay for broadband networks by imposing new fees on big tech companies “are based on a false premise,” meta executives wrote in a blog entry Today.

“Proposals for network tariffs fail to recognize that our investments in content drive the business model of telecom operators,” wrote Meta executives Kevin Salvadori and Bruno Cendon Martin. Meta’s comments came a few weeks later Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters opposed the proposal checked by European supervisory authorities.

Meta executives said that telecom operators and content application providers (CAPs) are “symbiotic companies that fill distinct but complementary roles in the digital ecosystem. Meta invests tens of billions of euros each year in our apps and platforms — like Facebook, Instagram, and Quest — to facilitate content hosting. Billions of people go online every day to access this content, creating the demand that allows telecom operators to charge people for Internet access. Our investments in content literally fuel the revenue and business model of telecom operators. “

ISPs in the EU argue that big tech companies should pay a “fair share” of network deployment costs. In the US, Republican Brendan Carr of the Federal Communications Commission Expectations that “Big Tech has enjoyed a free ride on our Internet infrastructure while eliminating the billions of dollars in costs required to maintain and build that network.”

Big tech companies don’t get access to the internet for free, however. Anyone who distributes content over the Internet pays their own providers, builds their own network infrastructure, or a combination of both.

For extremely large companies like Netflix and Meta, investments include building their own content delivery networks. “Over the past decade, CAPs have overall invested over $880 billion in global digital infrastructure, including approximately $120 billion per year from 2018 to 2021,” Meta’s blog post read today. “These infrastructure contributions from tech companies save telecom providers about $6 billion a year.”

Telefónica wants “two-sided market”

The European Commission last month started taking public input on the proposal to make online platforms pay for broadband network upgrades and expansions from telecom companies. The exploratory consultation is expected to end on May 19th.

Last week, Telefónica argued in a blog post that telecoms should be a “two-way market” with network operators charging internet users and content providers.

“Telecoms just want to create new revenue streams; why do they need the policy maker to do this when other companies or markets do not need such interventions to evolve into a two- or multi-sided market?” Telefónica Corporate Regulation Manager Fernando Herrera González wrote.

Telefónica’s blog post lamented the existence of telecom-specific regulation, which means ISPs need new rules to receive payments from over-the-top companies (OTT) that send content to internet users.

“As in other industries, the number of sides of the telecom market at any point in time should depend on the specific business model under which operators think they can be sustainable,” the Post said. “On the contrary, what is exceptional is the existence of firms (in this case, the OTTs) able to refuse to negotiate the terms of service they enjoy, to the point of refusing to pay for them.”

Meta: No evidence of investment gap

Meta’s blog post states that telecom operators seem to have enough money to build their networks. “We and others see no credible evidence of an investment gap, either in fixed capacity or mobile coverage,” the post said.

Over 60 percent of Europeans have fiber optic internet access at home, and deployments “are well on their way to achieving that EU Commission Aiming for full coverage of homes with a gigabit network by 2030,” Meta wrote.

“The priority for European consumers is to ensure that the fixed networks, which carry the vast majority of data, have the technical capabilities to benefit from tomorrow’s internet – and the good news is that the existing investment roadmap of the industry “Already on track to enable home connection speeds 10x faster than today,” Meta wrote other internet services for decades to come.”

Meta also said that 5G wireless coverage in Europe “has grown dramatically, with almost three quarters of the population in the EU27 countries now have access to 5G.” While Meta hopes its plan for augmented reality glasses works, it said 5G should be able to handle the traffic generated by the devices.

“We expect speeds for AR applications to be no more than the low tens of megabits per second,” which would not require “a major change in the physical architecture” of cellular networks, Meta said.

Accordingly Pew Research Center polls75% of adults aged 65 and over use the Internet and 64% use their home broadband connection to it. These numbers have steadily increased over the past decade and have become even more apparent since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. I think we’ve all increased our use of FaceTime, Zoom, and other video chat tools over this time.

The need to be online is imperative, but all too often the price of a reliable internet connection can be steep. That’s an increased problem if you’re a fixed-income retiree. How do you find cheap internet deals for seniors? I’m glad you asked. Here are a few ideas to stay connected more cheaply.

Start by looking at government programs

Unlike your local diner, internet provider Don’t really offer senior discounts. But seniors need affordable internet service. There are certainly some ISP-specific offerings worth exploring (and I’ll get to those in a moment), but the best place to start is by taking advantage of federal programs. Two come to mind – one has been around since 1985 and the other is a more recent directive that went into effect in 2022.

You should start with lifeline, a program that has been around for decades and can help eligible customers with their phone or internet bills. While it’s not specifically geared toward senior citizens, some of its qualifying features — including Medicaid participation, Supplemental Security Income, and Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit — apply to seniors. Lifeline is also geared toward helping low-income households, so retirees with a particularly tight fixed income, including those who are in Federal Public Housing Assistance or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, may also be able to participate.

What do you get if you qualify? Seniors can save up to $9.25 a month on their internet bill, which translates to a total of $111 a year in savings on home connectivity.

Even better, once you qualify for Lifeline, you’re also eligible for the state Affordable connectivity program, a grant from the Federal Communications Commission. Again, this isn’t specifically geared towards seniors, but those eligible for Lifeline support may also qualify for this benefit, which offers a monthly discount on the cost of broadband service.

What’s exciting is that you can use the funds from the ACP for the specific programs we list below and you might find that the cost of your monthly internet bill is completely covered. Another option is to use the ACP to pay for a faster plan so you can better stream your favorite TV shows or connect better to those video chats with your family.

Finally, a note of caution: Beware of the “Senior Deals” pages on some ISP sites. Many are just glorified ads masquerading as helpful tips. Instead of showing you legitimate discounts or revealing special offers, they try to sell you higher speed plans. Be sure to use some discernment when shopping.

Top internet offers and discounts for seniors

Best Internet Deals and Discounts for Seniors FAQs

Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs and creator of the collapsed stablecoin Terra, has been indicted by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York on eight counts of fraud, including “wire fraud, commodity fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud.” and engage in market manipulation”, accordingly The New York Times. Prosecutors have told the media that they will seek Kwon’s extradition.

The charges follow his apparent arrest in Montenegro on Thursday, which was first reported through social media posts by Montenegrin Interior Minister Filip Adzic on twitter (although not verified, whether through Twitter Blue or legacy means), and on Facebook (where he is verified but the blue ticks from facebook have been wrong before).

Yonhap News in Korea The South Korean National Police are reportedly awaiting fingerprint confirmation that the arrested person is in fact Do Kwon.

Last year, the collapse of the Terra/Luna algorithmic stablecoin ecosystem was one of the early events in the industry’s downturn, which the SEC says constituted a massive fraud that vaporized over $40 billion in value. There was reports that Interpol has issued a “Red Notice” on Kwonas prosecutors in the US and South Korea tried to have him arrested despite Kwon’s tweets assert “I’m not ‘on the run’ or anything like that.”

Accordingly Yonhap NewsThe Korean police issued a statement on the arrest, saying, “We checked the person’s age, nationality and name with the ID card and confirmed that it is the same person as CEO Kwon with photo data.”

Updated March 23 at 8:31pm ET: Kwon has been charged with fraud by federal prosecutors.