When it comes to advertising, U.K. carriers EE and O2 have certainly talked the talk when it comes to blocking adverts. However, Three’s English and Italian arms just became the first European carriers to walk the walk.
More specifically, Three signed a deal with Israel-based software company Shine, which offers ad-blocking technology for those willing to cough up the dough. Three didn’t reveal how much the deal is worth, or how Shine’s technology will be implemented, but did indicate that ad-blocking will take place at a network level rather than by having customers download extra software to make the magic happen.
What’s interesting is, based on the press release’s language, Three isn’t planning to block every single advert. This runs contrary to Shine’s ad-blocking software, which blocks just about every advert under the sun and seemingly doesn’t allow “whitelisting.” In addition, Three’s network-level ad-blocking sounds like it will be opt-in, rather than opt-out.
According to Three U.K. chief marketing officer Tom Malleschitz, the company arrived at its decision to partner with Shine due to adverts creating a poorer network experience for Three’s customers.
“Irrelevant and excessive mobile ads annoy customers and affect their overall network experience,” said Malleschitz. “We don’t believe customers should have to pay for data usage driven by mobile ads. The industry has to work together to give customers mobile ads they want and benefit from.”
Three may be the first European carrier to roll out ad-blocking features on its network, but it isn’t the first to put some research behind it. Last November,EE and O2, two U.K.-based carriers, each announced they would look into implementing ad-blocking technologies on their respective networks. Neither company has yet to implement such technologies, though they, much like Three, will have to consider which adverts are to be considered “acceptable.”
