∞ Carriers want Apple to help pay for network upgrade

Judging from the advertisements we see, you would think wireless phone carriers are happy to have all the customers they can get. However, as new services become popular and wireless networks age, carriers are beginning to feel the strain.

[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]It seems that every carrier wants to be included in the newest phone on the market, but as the services associated with these new gadgets continue to consume more bandwidth, they are looking to companies like Apple to pay up.

France Telecom, Telecom Italia and Vodafone Group want a new deal that would see companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Skype and possible others to pay fees to use their networks. The proposed fees would be linked to usage, according to Bloomberg.

While the carriers are all for sharing the cost of upgrading the network with the service providers, it doesn’t appear they want to discuss sharing subscriber profits with them.

It doesn’t seem to make much sense for carriers to expect companies like Apple and Google to pay for an upgrade of outdated network infrastructure.