The Dark Side of Fair Share: When Celebrities Believe They’re Above the Law
Meet Jorge Mendes, the Cell C CEO who’s got a bone to pick with the "Fair Share" concept. It seems he’s had enough of operators being forced to share their precious bandwidth with the likes of Netflix and Co. But is he just trying to avoid the blame?
Mendes is adamant that operators should focus on finding their own ways to make a buck, rather than relying on regulators to dictate how they operate. "Don’t give someone 100GB + 100GB (night bundles) or sell 1TB of data for R249 when your network can’t handle it," he spat, shaking his head in disapproval.
But not all operators are in the same boat. Vodacom and MTN, for instance, have thrown their support behind the Fair Share concept, arguing that they’re the ones who do all the heavy lifting in terms of infrastructure investment, while OTT players like Netflix and Facebook get away with paying peanuts.
So, what’s the real story behind the Fair Share debate? It’s all about the Benjamins, baby. Will operators succumb to the temptation of more profits, or will they stand strong against the big bad wolves of the OTT world? Only one way to find out: keep reading.