Israeli start-up Shine has carriers lined up for its ad-blocking software

According to a report from the Financial Times, one unnamed European carrier has installed ad-blocking software to prevent mobile ads disseminated by Google and others from reaching subscribers' screens. The anonymous mobile operator is employing a technology from Israeli start-up Shine that allows it to block out mobile ads and reduce bandwidth use on the carrier's pipeline. The software is expected to be turned on before the end of this year. There is a possibility that this unnamed carrier is 3. That mobile operator is owned by Li Ka-shing, the chairman of Hutchinson Whampoa. Li also owns Horizons Ventures, which is a major investor in Shine.

According to the report in the European business paper, the unnamed carrier is targeting Google because it wants the tech titan to give up (read split) some of the revenue it receives from mobile ads. Shine plans on offering its service to other mobile carriers and it is expected to announce a deal with one that serves "tens of millions of customers" sometime in the next two months. According to Roi Carthy, chief marketing officer of Shine, at least one U.S. carrier is going to be signing up to block mobile ads on its network.

In the U.S. and Europe, there is the possibility that Shine's service will break net neutrality rules by automatically blocking the ads. Under net neutrality, all data must be treated equally by carriers. We should point out that Shine does not block ads that are native to certain websites since these are considered by the company to be an "intrinsic part of the user experience." Shine's service will block out ads on mobile displays, apps, and mobile video ads.

source: FT (SubscriptionReq'd) via BusinessInsiders, TheVerge, AndroidAuthority