Mark Zuckerberg is like the guy who comes to your party and drinks your champagne, and kisses your girls, and doesn t bring anything.
— Denis O Brien, chairman of Digicel Group, a wireless provider in 33 countries, on how telecom operators feel about companies such as Facebook and Google. In other words, O Brien tells the Wall Street Journal that Facebook and Google take and take but don t give back to telecom providers. [Google earns] billions of dollars on advertising, and they don t pay a penny. I think it s the most extraordinary business model in modern history, he said.
But the companies don t seem to feel they re getting something for nothing. According to the Journal, Facebook says it has tried to work with telecom companies on ways for both sides to make money, while a Google spokeswoman cited a report by a research firm showing that Internet companies spend billions annually on global communications infrastructure such as undersea cables.
O Brien s comments come as Facebook CEO Zuckerberg and others meet at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.
The New York Times, too, reports on what it calls the love-hate relationship between tech and telecom — especially as mobile has become king. Both sides need the other, but they re also moving in on each other s territory. For example, Facebook and Google s free messaging services bypass offerings wireless carriers charge for, such as text messages. Some telecom companies are teaming up with tech companies to bundle tech services, such as movie or music streaming. And some telecom companies have begun to invest in startups to try to keep on top of emerging technology.
Photo of Mark Zuckerberg by Kirstina Sangsahachart/Daily News archives
