Three to deploy network-wide ad 'blocking' technology

Three UK dealt a blow to mobile advertisers on Friday, tacking what it termed 'escessive and irrelevant' ads on its users mobile handsets.

The smallest of the UK's four mobile networks, along with its sister network Three Italy, announced it had teamed up with Shine Technologies to use its ad blocking technologies on is networks.

"Irrelevant and excessive mobile ads annoy customers and affect their overall network experience. We don't believe customers should have to pay for data usage driven by mobile ads. The industry has to work together to give customers mobile ads they want and benefit from," said Three UK's chief marketing officer Tom Malleschitz.

"These goals will give customers choice and significantly improve their ad experience," he added.

The company - owned by Hong Kong-listed CK Hutchison Group - said network-based ad blocking was a more effective solution than application-based technologies, which many of its customers already used, as it reached a broader range of mobile advertising.

Three said its objective was not to eliminate mobile advertising, but to give customers more control, choice and greater transparency over what they receive.

The company revealed its three principal goals in deploying ad blocking capability: that customers should not pay data charges to receive adverts; that customers' privacy and security should be protected; and that customers should be able th receive advertising that is relevant and interesting to them.

It was unclear whether that meant Three would replace advertisements on users' phones with others served up by its own platform, though the terminology used in the release did not rule it out.