Breaking news; a Dutch water company plans to install scanners on its users' taps to see what their water is actually being used for and tax it accordingly. Director Van der Meer states the following: “It has come to our attention that our water is not merely being used to flush toilets or shower, but that it is even being used to make lemonade. It seems to us that this water can be taxed differently for the consumer, allowing us to achieve better results for our shareholders.”*
The national government is looking into possibilities to curb this.
Sounds crazy? Yet this is exactly what KPN has been working on recently in the context of DPI and net neutrality. When the government decided to put a stop to this and enshrine net neutrality in law, thereby protecting consumers against ridiculous rates for the same bits and bytes traveling over KPN's lines, the telecom giant came up with something new. We are not only throwing the Rates based solely on MBs are going up., but we link these to call minutes, so that it makes no sense to make calls or use WhatsApp via the internet.
It is logical that if KPN generates less revenue due to the arrival of WhatsApp and Skype, they must maintain their network in another way. However, the vision currently being put forward is extremely limited.
Instead of focusing on making a small piece of the market more expensive, KPN should focus on expanding its market. Recently, UPC announced its intention to enter the mobile spectrum in collaboration with Vodafone. Smart, but of course years too late. Why would I want to continue purchasing my cable TV, telephony, internet, and other services via the fixed network from a provider? Wouldn't it be great if I could put a SIM card in every device in my house and decide for myself how they work together via an interface? Cable TV on my mobile, checking what's left in my fridge via my iPad, or setting up a conference meeting with family via my TV; all via KPN's large, fast mobile network.
Yes KPN, I am willing to pay for that; when you see the bill I already receive for landline, HD television, and cable internet, there are still huge opportunities there; the 'Internet of Things' one step closer.
Otherwise, it could very well be that a party like Google, with their recently launched 'Page Speed Service' will not only ensure faster page load times, but also the extreme compression of data; resulting in an extreme reduction in data traffic used and the associated revenue.
In addition, yesterday in the Netherlands Google Voice launched. Should a giant like Google now start offering data-only plans combined with voice and potential compression, it will naturally become very difficult for the traditional telcos.
KPN, show vision for the future and invest specifically in expanding data connections and capabilities per cell tower; otherwise, that short-term vision could very well mean a short-term end.
The above story is, of course, fictional and merely illustrative of the telecom market