The issue pits Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica and Telecom Italia against Google, Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft and Amazon.
Europes major telecommunications operators have for years urged EU regulators to get Big Tech to bear some of the roll-out costs because they make up a huge part of internet traffic, calling it fair share funding.
Big Tech has pushed back, characterising it as an internet tax while pointing to their own efforts to increase the efficiency of their services.
The debate has gained in intensity following a White House fact sheet released on 28 July following a trade deal with the EU which said that the bloc confirmed that it would not adopt or maintain network usage fees.
While reaffirming that the EU has the sovereign rights to legislate on its digital infrastructure, commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said a white paper or guidance paper issued last year had already decided on the issue of network fees.