More than a year ago, Deutsche Telecom's CEO, René Obermann, said that "OTT providers should pay for High Quality" (here). Last week, during its presentation at the Broadband Traffic Management Event, Markus Freikamp, DT's head of international mobile wholesale business models, maintained this position - although it seems that it will take some time to build. Michelle Donegan report to Light Reading that Mr. Freikamp said that "the operator was targeting the so-called "two-sided" business model. That means, whoever puts the load on the networks should be the one paying .. We believe in that model and believe the industry will change that way .. It's not here today, maybe not tomorrow, but the day after tomorrow .. There's more confidence today on delivering QoS on fixed than on mobile networks".
No word on Net Neutrality.
See "DT Wants Cash From Content Owners" - here.
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That was said during a panel I moderated, rather than a specific presentation. Also on the panel was a representative of YouTube and a few other vendors.
ReplyDeleteMy sense was that the DT spokesman was being unrealistic, especially as YT only monetises (advertises against) a small fraction of its videos. I think the notion of putting a tollgate on the network *for what people are already doing* won't work.
Instead, DT & the operators need to work with Internet companies to help them make *more* money. For example, if DT improves QoS or gives YT more customer/targetting data to help them sell more ads, they could get a % commission on the uplift. The YT speaker seemed to accept that was fair, interestingly - one of the first times I've heard an upstream "two sided" player indicate willingness to pay.