CES: Now Verizon Says Google, Others Should Pay For Internet Apps; Talks On

Verizon CEO is now on the band(width)wagon…in a Q&A at CES, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said that providers of bandwith-intensive Internet applications, including Google and Microsoft, should “share the cost” of operating broadband networks. He joins AT&T (then SBC) CEO Ed Whitacre, who last year put his foot in the mouth in a rather harsh interview with BW.

According to Seidenberg, Verizon and Google are already talking about how such compensation might be structured. While Seidenberg said Verizon “intuitively” believes that the Internet should be open to all applications, he also said that “we need to make sure there is the right economic model,” especially in regards to so-called “free” or advertising-supported applications, which generally do not offer any direct compensation to the network service provider.

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