The increasing demand for bandwidth-heavy online TV and video content from services such as the BBC’s iPlayer and Channel 4’s 4OD has raised concerns that UK broadband networks will shortly no longer be able to cope with traffic, according to a report on silicon.com.
After 3.5 million programmes were streamed or downloaded following the launch of the BBC’s iPlayer Tiscali has shared its opinion that content providers, such as the BBC, should reach into their pockets to pay for network upgrades capable of coping with their online content demand.
Speaking to silicon.com a Tiscali spokeswoman said: “If the content providers don’t come to the table on this, the cost will be solely on the end user. It is an issue and we want to talk about it,” she added: “My hope for this year is there will be some sort of cross-industry consultation on this.”
Ofcom have also entered the debate with suggestions that may be a need for broadband traffic prioritisation in the future. New types of business models or new commercial relationships could also play an important role in the next generation of broadband networks.
Other major ISPS including BT, Virgin Media and Orange however have expressed little concern over the impact of online TV, with BT commenting that the launch of iPlayer hadn’t had any impact on the service its customers receive.
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its well know that tiscali is a no frills internet service provider! the netto of of ISP’s
how about they pack up shop and stop moaning, why on earth would content providers pay for network upgrades.
Its just plain silly. Possibly the silliest news story i have EVER heard
Its a bit like vodafone saying “please dont use your megabit connection on a laptop, i mean, come one”
Tiscali have always had really slow speeds, not just since the iPlayer, they are just using it as an excuse for all the bandwidth throttling and port blocking they do. I would suggest avoiding Tiscali at all costs unless you want to spend half your life on the phone to technical support asking why your 8Mb connection runs at dial up speeds.