O2 chief keen to charge companies with big websites

Published November 5th, 2010

Ronan Dunne of O2 has outlined plans to charge large websites for carrying their traffic.

O2's chief executive has warned the company may have to start charging content providers for the privilege of making their websites available on its network.

Speaking at this week's Westminster eForum, the home and mobile broadband provider's boss Ronan Dunne insisted this step is necessary if networks are to continue running efficiently, reports tech news site ZDNet UK.

Mr Dunne's proposals would apply to "big" online resources, including the likes of the BBC, Skype and YouTube.

He went on to question the logic of forcing broadband subscribers to foot the bill themselves, commenting: "If consumers alone are paying, it's hard to see where the incentive is for content providers to use networks efficiently."

The O2 chief's remarks come after Nokia Siemens Networks revealed the majority of mobile broadband users in France, Germany, Spain and the UK are keen to receive a better service.

Almost a third of respondents said they are willing to pay a premium for a high-speed connection.