The European Union pushes forward the 5G infrastructure plan, requiring companies that occupy large amounts of broadband resources, such as Apple and Netflix, to pay "Internet tax"

CTOnews.com, Feb. 24 (Reuters)-the European Union has launched a 12-week consultation to require technology companies that take up more broadband resources, such as Apple, Netflix and Google, to pay an "Internet tax" to help build 5G network infrastructure. The consultation will end on May 19.

CTOnews.com learned from the EU website that the proposal is based on the vision of "fair sharing" (fair-share), which requires large technology companies that provide streaming video and other data-intensive services to help pay for the traffic they generate.

The draft document, which is part of negotiations with the industry, suggests that companies donate a fund to offset the cost of building 5G mobile networks and fiber-optic infrastructure, and establish a mandatory system to guide technology giants to pay telecom operators.

The tech giants, who call it an "Internet tax", expressed strong dissatisfaction with the new EU rule.