Google Should Pay for Internet Network as Web Content Expands, France Says

Google and other providers of Web content aren't contributing enough to the costs of telecommunications networks and may be forced to pay, the French minister responsible for the Internet said.

The French government plans to convene a working group including Internet companies with “the objective that services that occupy the largest part of our networks contribute to the deployment and maintenance of those networks,” Industry Minister Eric Besson. The minister’s comments back up complaints from some of Europe’s largest telecom operators, who are investing in networks to cope with the growth of services like Google’s YouTube. France Telecom Chief Executive Officer Stephane Richard, Telefonica SA CEO Cesar Alierta and Telecom Italia SpA CEO Franco Bernabe have said that Internet companies are getting an unfair deal from their networks.