Under pressure from the ever-increasing demand for data on their networks, mobile providers across Europe are calling on huge corporations with data-heavy internet sites and services – for example Facebook, Google, and Apple - to pay up.
Vodafone, France Telecom, and Telecom Italia want firms to pay fees linked to usage, a report from Bloomberg said. The thought of websites paying providers for users to access their content violates the core concept of Net Neutrality, which advocates that Internet service providers shouldn’t prioritize the data on their networks. The legal ramifications of Net Neutrality are presently under review within the U.S. by the FCC.
The sales of smartphones like Apple’s iPhone and devices running Google Android, plus the resulting increased demand on networks, will continue to grow substantially over the coming years, according to the report, but revenue from end-users will not grow apace.
Speaking at the Le Internet conference in Paris this week, France Telecom CEO Stephane Richard said the explosion of data is a “challenge” and that it referred to as into question the whole enterprise model of mobile data.
Earlier this year, Google and Verizon issued a joint statement on Net Neutrality that urged regulators to exempt mobile networks from Net Neutrality rules. At the time reps from the firms said, “Wireless broadband is distinct from the standard wireline world, in part because the mobile marketplace is more competitive and changing rapidly.”