Apps and websites ping mobile phone antennas up to 50 times per minute, according to an Israeli startup that makes ad-blocking software. Shine is the name of the company that is trying to convince carriers to block mobile advertising – and apparently European operators are listening.
According to The Financial Times, a number of European carriers have installed Shine’s software in their data centers to block advertising within mobile apps and websites viewed on mobile devices. Shine is promoting its solution as a way for operators to conserve precious bandwidth, but there may be another reason it’s catching on.
Mobile carriers are keenly aware that Google controls most online advertising, and they see that dominance continuing as online advertising moves to mobile. By blocking ads in websites and mobile apps, carriers could preserve more mobile advertising opportunities for themselves. Carriers are in a good position to offer home-screen ads and text message-based advertising.
“Today’s subscribers do almost everything on their mobile devices, giving operators better insights into their likes and dislikes than any other internet company,” said Guillaume Le Mener, head of data monetization at Tektronix Communications. “The potential for operators to become important players in the marketing and advertising space is only going to increase.”
Cutting Google out of mobile advertising could also dull the search engine giant’s appetite for mobile subscribers. In the United States, Google is already creeping into the carriers’ backyards with its Wi-Fi-based Project Fi.
Like the U.S., Europe is adopting net neutrality laws, which could take the shine off any carrier plans to block advertising. Net neutrality laws will make it illegal for carriers to block specific content.
The Financial Times report (subscription required) describes the service as one that customers would be able to opt into. It is unclear whether this could change the service’s legality under net neutrality laws.
