If there’s any consensus about the digital divide, it’s that the money to bridge that gap has to come from somewhere. Why not from advertising?
In 2011, the U.S. portion of online ad spending topped $30 billion, says the research firm comScore. Just as important, that’s 20.2 percent more than 2010. By 2012, comScore predicts that U.S. online ad spending will be nearly $50 billion.
Suppose that of that $30 billion, $7.2 billion was devoted to bringing Internet access to households that currently aren’t online. (Why $7.2 billion? That’s the amount of the
U.S. government’s recent “broadband stimulus” package.) The telecom infrastructure vendor Tellabs estimates that $7.2 billion could fund Internet access for between 6 percent and 19 percent of U.S. households, depending on the technology used.
AdVantage Networks’ Monetization Platform (AMP) provides telcos, cable providers, ISPs and other network providers with a convenient, turnkey way to share in the advertising revenue being generated on their network, regardless of whether that’s $7.2 billion annually or some other amount. AMP is a digital advertising marketplace that gives network providers the ability to monetize their Internet access, without affecting the end-user’s Internet browsing experience.
AMP uses industry-standard router/proxy technologies, HTML and browser security models to detect third-party ads and substitute them with participating advertisers’ highly targeted ads. This targeting doesn’t undermine the customer experience. For example, it doesn’t change a Web page’s formatting or modify any of the publisher content. All users see is the page they wanted and an ad that’s relevant to them.
The hidden benefit is that AMP opens up a steady stream of revenue for network providers to recoup some of the initial investment made to build out their network. This added revenue can be used to increase speeds and QoS for existing consumer and enterprises customers, as well as extend service to households, schools, health clinics and businesses that currently aren’t online. This steady income also puts network providers in a better position to price their Internet services affordably yet profitably, exactly the kind of business model that’s critical for bridging the digital divide.
Advantage Networks Blog 