-Phone operators urge for charges on content providers.

INTERNET BUSINESS NEWS-(C)1995-2011 M2 COMMUNICATIONS

14 February 2011 -- Telecommunication companies are pushing for the introduction of charges on online content providers for high-quality delivery of their services to users, in response to the rising web traffic on their networks, the Financial Times reports.

Franco Bernabe, chairman of the GSMA, the body representing the mobile phone operators, argued that the telecoms companies are investing heavily in infrastructure upgrades due to the increased Internet traffic, while content providers were not participating in this investment. He argued that the "free lunch" for content providers should be brought to an end. This, according to him, may happen via charging content providers for the better-quality delivery of their video traffic.

The telecom groups are set to make their case during a meeting with executives from companies like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Facebook on 3 March 2011, called by the European Commission.

The calls for the charges are, however, controversial, as they contradict the principle of net neutrality, according to which all types of Internet traffic should be treated equally.

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