PRESS: Russia’s MTS wants to let clients block ads in Internet

MOSCOW, Dec 8 (PRIME) -- Russian leading mobile operator MTS is considering blocking advertisements in the Internet and is looking for a subcontractor to fulfil the project, aimed at improving the user experience, business daily Vedomosti reported Thursday.

MTS’ spokesman Dmitry Solodovnikov said the operator is asking suppliers to offer solutions to integrate advertisement blocking at the network level. The service could speed up loading of pages and stop distracting users from Web sites, he said.

“We’re examining the issue on all fronts, including a legal point of view,” Solodovnikov said.

MTS has experience in blocking advertisements, but on certain terms and conditions and under agreements with owners of resources. In February, the operator and Internet company Rambler & Co launched a joint service allowing MTS subscribers to get access to Rambler’s resources without any commercials for 6 rubles per day.

None of the local operators has offered such services widely, but users can install software to block online advertisements, and its popularity is rising. Gazprom-Media Digital, which sells advertisements on the biggest sites of the Runet, the Russian-speaking segment of the Internet, said earlier the local video advertising market loses 20–30% of potential views from such software.

Maxim Osipov, managing director at Dentsu Aegis Network Russia, said Internet companies and media resources would not like MTS’ idea, because advertisements is one of the their core sources of income.

(63.9114 rubles – U.S. $1)

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