Singapore's Singtel set to outdo Comcast & Verizon by charging customers for Whatsapp & Skype usage

http://www.smh.com.au/business/singtel-chief-calls-for-right-to-charge-challengers-skype-and-whatsapp-20140225-33dmb.html#ixzz2uQuxFem0

Snippets from the article.

#000000 ; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.02400016784668px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">SingTel chief executive Chua Sock Koong has called on regulators to give carriers like Optus the right to charge rivals WhatsApp and Skype for use of their networks or risk a major decline in network investment.

#000000 ; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.02400016784668px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">

#666666 ; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0px; background-image: url('http://resources.smh.com.au/common/media-common-1.0/css/output/7.35.4/common.skin.article.css/img/sprite-skin-article-new.png'); background-position: -664px -241px; background-repeat: initial initial;">The main problem we have as an industry is we have been unable to monetise this increased demand  

#000000 ; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.02400016784668px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">SingTel owns Optus, which is Australia's second largest provider of telecommunications services. It invested almost $1 billion during financial year 2013 in its fixed line and mobile networks.

#000000 ; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.02400016784668px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"> 

#000000 ; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.02400016784668px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">But the CEO warned such investments would be slashed unless regulators allowed them to start charging over-the-top (OTT) rivals like WhatsApp for using their networks.

#000000 ; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.02400016784668px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">Advertisemen

#000000 ; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.02400016784668px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"> 

#000000 ; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.02400016784668px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">"The main problem we have as an industry is we have been unable to monetise this increased demand ... and [average revenue per user] has fallen over time," she said. "I think the pace of change in our industry is relentless so clearly we can't afford to stand still.

#000000 ; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.02400016784668px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"> 

#000000 ; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.02400016784668px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">"If we are not careful we could stand the risk of being totally disintermediated."

#000000 ; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.02400016784668px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">She called on regulators to allow carriers to detect and charge OTT players when their services were being provided over the network. While Telstra has experimented with such moves, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission considers it to be anti-competitive.

#000000 ; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.02400016784668px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"> 

#000000 ; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.02400016784668px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">Her comments echoed those of Optus head of networks Vic McClelland who told The Australian Financial Review earlier this year the company was working to provide priority services at a cost for customers wanting better access to streaming video services like YouTube.

wow that's nuts, i dont think it will be very successful. im not familiar with the telecom landscape in singapore but im willing to bet there will be service providers that are willing to step in and address this madness wit h fair and open connectivity.

Nice to see another Singaporean here.

@anarekist- This is happening in Australia.Australian company with Singaporean oversight.The Singaporean landscape is different. That company is the player with the biggest weight and the rest are probably in cahoots

Singaporean here, IDA implemented some laws to ensure things like these to happen. Here are some of them taken directly from their website. 

ISPs and telecom network operators are prohibited from
blocking legitimate Internet content
• ISPs and telecom network operators cannot impose
discriminatory practices, restrictions, charges or other
measures which, while not outright blocking, will render
any legitimate Internet content effectively inaccessible
or unusable