Dutch Carriers To Fragment Web, Disregard Customer Privacy
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 23rd Apr 2011 10:20 UTC
Internet & Networking You know all that talk about net neutrality in the US? How for instance Verizon and Google want net neutrality to apply only to something they call the 'wired' internet, which is apparently somehow different from the 'mobile' internet? Well, while you Americans are only talking about it, us Dutch are once again way ahead of the curve: the largest of the three main carriers has announced its intention to start charging extra for services like VoIP, instant messaging, Facebook, and so on, with the other two carriers contemplating similar moves. The dark future of the web, right here in my glorified swamp.
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RE: Not worried
by danieldk on Sat 23rd Apr 2011 16:56 UTC in reply to "Not worried"
danieldk
Member since:
2005-11-18

I suspect if KPN goes on with its current plans T-Mobile will simply say, well we've considered it but we're not gonna do it and a lot of KPN customers will switch to them. T-Mobile might be setting up a trap here for KPN.


Only customers who use bandwidth-intensive services will switch. T-Mobile likes more customers, but in the right mix. The users who only download five e-mails per day compensate the folks who watch singing dogs on Youtube five hours per day. So, that's not a nice prospect for T-Mobile.

The three carriers will probably follow suit, because there is a huge opportunity to cash-in. E.g. take instant messaging, which is low-bandwidth compared to VOIP, and people will probably still pay for it, because it's cheaper than SMS (outside the bundle).

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