Some cellular service providers are unhappy with their customers' downloading and using Google's mobile apps, and are leaning on Google to do something about it. That was the message Google head of special initiatives Chris Sacca passed on to an audience at Oxford University's Said Business School earlier this week.
"We've been getting notes from some of the telco carriers who are saying 'look, you need to stop our customers from downloading this thing'," Sacca told the audience according to ZDNet. "They're inserting themselves in between you and an application that you want. I think that has scary, scary implications."
If that sounds familar, it should. It's exactly the same scenario that has been raised in the discussion over network neutrality. To date, there have been very few reports of cell phone companies blocking access to or usage of Google's popular mobile apps, but Sacca's statements paint a troubling picture of what may come to pass.
In a very real sense, Google causes problems for both cellular providers and ISPs. Their offerings use bandwidthmore problematic on cellular networksand in many cases, compete with the service provider's offerings. That's problematic for the likes of Cingular, Sprint Nextel, and Verizon, who would rather sell you access to one of their services than have you use one of Google's apps for free.
Even those who subscribe to "unlimited" data plans have found that they are not so unlimited. Verizon Wireless is known for kicking data-hungry customers off of its EV-DO network and canceling their accounts. Verizon's terms of service prohibit the use of some bandwidth-intensive applications such as streaming video or music, and that may be one of the issues with Google's applications.
Google Local for Mobile can use a lot of bandwidth, especially when downloading maps and traffic information. Even if that is a factor in the cellular networks' distaste for Google, keeping customers from using the applications they want to is seldom a smart business move.
Right now, the net neutrality debate is playing itself out in the realm of cellular networks, but it's not too farfetched to project the discussion onto the Internet as a whole. Replace "cellular provider" with "Internet service provider" and the discussion takes a more troubling turn. When ISPs are talking about forcing content providers to pay for their half of the pipe, Google and other Internet companies face the possibility of being pressured by ISPs should net neutrality fall by the wayside.
reader comments