Deutsche Telekom (DT) has slammed Meta after the Facebook parent company ended its direct peering relationship with the German carrier.

The decision to do so has seen both companies publicly exchange blows this week.

Meta's decision to end the agreement follows a recent court decision in Germany that ruled in favor of DT.

According to DT, all data traffic from Meta to the DT network used to run via direct connections for a fee, however, the carrier claims that Meta stopped making payments during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response, DT filed a lawsuit against this, which was upheld by the Cologne Regional Court, resulting in Meta being told to fork over €20 million ($22m) to the carrier.

Rather than settle the case, DT claims that Meta has opted to route its data traffic to its network via a transit provider instead of the previous direct route. "Meta has failed negotiations for further direct interconnection," stated DT.

"Meta is once again abusing its overwhelming bargaining power to discredit legitimate concerns of the European telecommunications industry and consumers in order to avoid fair payment," said DT in a statement yesterday.

"This is not just about a difference of opinion between two companies, but about the question of whether the power of the strongest prevails on the Internet or whether there is a fair balance between all participants. We hope that this debate will not be carried out on the backs of the citizens. Even a company like Meta is not above the law."

DT also accused Meta of trying to avoid paying its taxes in Europe, disregarding European data protection, in which DT refers to WhatsApp, lying to the public about hate speech, trying to force its users into payment models in violation of consumer protection laws, and that the company gave data to Cambridge Analytica, thus indirectly influencing elections. All of these accusations were in the company's initial statement, but have since been deleted.

Who should pick up the tab?

The statement refers to the telco versus 'Big Tech' debate that has rumbled on for years. Telcos such as DT have long argued that 'Big Tech' companies operating over the top of the former's infrastructure need to do more to fund network rollouts, as these companies are some of the largest traffic generators for these networks.

It’s prompted the European Commission to launch a formal consultation into who should stump up the costs of providing these services, with operators arguing that the cost of maintaining and developing networks is becoming increasingly expensive.

During last year's Mobile World Congress event, Deutsche Telekom CEO Timo Höttges said that European operators spent €55 billion ($61.27bn) on infrastructure alone in 2022, compared to €1 billion ($1.11bn) by some of the so-called hyperscalers.

“Is it a fair deal that hyperscalers and streamers are using our infrastructure for free?” asked Höttges in February 2023. “Shouldn’t there be a fair sharing between, let’s say this money which we are investing into the infrastructure and the one we are monetizing?”

"Surprised and disappointed"

In response to DT's damning statement this week, Meta hit back, blaming the telco for the breakdown of their partnership.

Meta said that DT is "putting the open Internet at risk and undermining net neutrality principles."

The technology giant also stated that DT is "using its market power to put its subscribers in Germany behind a de facto paywall," which it notes could lead to restrictions over access to Internet services.

"Following months of discussion, we are surprised and disappointed by the breakdown in negotiations with Deutsche Telekom," said Meta.

"Meta has taken significant steps to keep its apps available directly through Deutsche Telekom, but given the court ruling concerning the unprecedented and unacceptable fees demanded, we are now routing our network traffic through a third-party transit provider, instead of exchanging traffic directly with Deutsche Telekom."

Discussing direct peering relationships further, Meta noted that such partnerships are the norm in the industry and that it has "reciprocal no cost (settlement-free) relationships with thousands of other telecom providers around the world."

"Content providers, like Meta, invest in products and services people want to use and telecom providers, like Deutsche Telekom, make money by charging for Internet access," added Meta, noting that the partnerships are designed to benefit everyone.

Meta also pointed out that in 2022, it invested more than €27 billion ($30bn) globally in digital infrastructure, which it says reduces the overall costs for telecom providers such as DT.

Earlier this year, DCD reported that Meta could spend up to $37 billion on new digital infrastructure this year, $2 billion more than previously anticipated.

"We also continue to invest in our Edge network which reduces latency and substantially lowers cost for telecom providers by bringing our content close to consumers."

"We should not underestimate what is at stake. Deutsche Telekom’s practices set a dangerous global precedent and put the ambition of net neutrality and an open Internet at risk for consumers, communities, and businesses around the world."

Despite the very public slanging match this week, Meta did say it's hopeful that it can reach a future agreement with DT.