As the dispute over the right of telecommunications operators to interfere with the internet preferences of cellular phone users (by stifling some connections or charging higher rates for some and endorsing theirs) grows more aggressive in the United States, similar issues have cropped up in Western Europe too.
The number of persons utilizing their cellular phones for connecting to the net is expected to increase by 15% reaching about 270 million by 2014, according to the figures IDC has gathered. In the meantime, the overall revenue from end-users is also expected to witness a drop of 1% annually. This, researcher Canalys says, would bring about an increase of 28%, which would be close to $3.7 billion, in the expenses of telecommunication operators.
As the costs increase, these operators are exploring newer avenues to bring in higher revenues with the help of data usage, and are therefore coaxing both customers and content providers alike to utilize the web. France Telecom as well as Vodafone have made up their minds to introduce tiered pricing, which would be based on a user’s data usage.
Internet neutrality would be doomed if these telecom providers get their way. Those using mobile data would be paying more for the sites they connect to. They might even be unjustifiably charged for connecting to some of the favourite sites. Telecommunication providers are trying their best to stifle sites YouTube, Facebook etc. as well as promoting their own social networking websites.
