Future could see fees introduced for email
4 February 2004
In a couple of years time email could become a pay-per-usage system if current ideas from Microsoft and Yahoo develop.
Similar to the stamp and envelope system used by the postal service worldwide, the companies are considering methods for applying email fees, believing it would greatly decrease if not completely stop spam and junk mail.
If plans went ahead users would need to purchase e-stamps, identifying the origin of the email and sourcing any large spam operatives.
Reportedly stamps would only cost 1 cent, according to Net4Nowt, which would mean email would still be affordable for the average user.
Recently, at the World Economics Forum, Bill Gates revealed he thought e-stamps would help stop junk mail because of the cost of sending so much email, with some sending over a million a day. However he also suggested that any emails sent to family members and friends would waive any email fees.
Currently in talks with Goodmail, a Silicon Valley company, Yahoo! is looking at creating and assessing the feasibility of paying for email, targeting users who send a lot of email each day. Money raised from the emails would be given to the recipients' ISP and distributed to subscribers as the ISP sees fit.
Rather than introducing fees, other companies such as AOL have looked for alternatives, seeking advice from the Internet Task Force, it has comprised a system called Sender Permitted From (SPF).
The system can identify problem addresses and consequently delete any messages and attachments it contains. However, it may not be so applicable to legitimate services such as e-cards and company administration systems.
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