Telefonica propose to charge for search engine useage

There is still confusion surrounding Telefonica’s proposal to charge Search Engines for bandwidth use.

Microsoft has asked Telefónica to clarify it’s position on who, and what it proposes to charge for the use of its networks. The Deputy President for Microsoft in Western Europe, Rosa María García, said that she wanted to know who Telefóncia intends to charge, the search providers or the consumers themselves.

This comes after an initial proposal from Telefónica, which hinted at charging a rent of sorts to search engines, such as Google, for their use of bandwidth. Telefónica Chairman, César Alierta, spoke of the plan some days ago, but Microsoft – and their own search engine ‘Bing’, that charging search engines will not benefit anybody.

Earlier this week the Spanish Government did a U-turn on their previous comments on whether Google should face a charge or not, now suggesting that such charges should not be made.