Italian communications regulator Agcom could impose new regulatory obligations on “consumer communication services” such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Viber, and require them to pay operators for using their networks, reports La Repubblica. The watchdog is planning to propose an “obligation to negotiate" with telecommunications companies as well as a requirement to respect Italian privacy laws, said the report. The proposed payment to operators should be "equitable, proportionate and non-discriminatory”, and serve as compensation for the amounts telecoms companies have invested in building up their networks as well as the telephone numbers used by messaging apps for their services. In turn, the app providers could be allowed to charge consumers for value-added services, said the report, citing a study by Agcom commissioner Antonio Prieto.
The watchdog's proposals follow a public consultation launched last year, which questioned whether “the manufacturers/providers of social apps shall remunerate the holders of the infrastructures and the holders of the numbering for the use of their resources, and if so how.” The regulator also raised the question as to whether services offered by social apps can be considered interchangeable with services offered by traditional telecoms operators.
Instant messaging apps are currently used by around 48.7 million Italians, with 70 percent checking their accounts within half an hour of waking up and 63 percent in the half hour before going to sleep. The use of SMS and voice calls, even from landlines, are falling sharply as a result of the popularity of the apps, said the report.
