BBC raises concerns over BT Broadband Option 1 speed throttling

The BBC has published concerns over the fairness of BT's broadband service on its dot.life blog by accusing the provider of cutting the speed users can watch video services such as BBC iPlayer and YouTube at peak times.

Speaking on the broadband operator's Option 1 package, the BBC found a clause buried deep within the fair usage policy stating: “[We] do limit the speed of all video streaming to 896Kbps on our Option 1 product, during peak times only, which is between 5pm – midnight every day.” However, the reporter Rory Cellan-Jones found no mention of this warning on the BT Total Broadband website.

Of course, this restriction has a significantly negative effect on any customer wishing to view streaming content from the likes of BBC iPlayer during the day. Currently the BBC iPlayer is available at three different speeds, 500Kb, 800Kb and 1.5Mb, depending on the speed of a user's connection. Alternatively, if viewers wish to make use of the high-definition service this needs a 3.2Mb connection. Although at the throttled BT speed it would be possible to view iPlayer content the BBC commented this would “make the viewing experience less satisfactory”.

In a statement, the BBC said: “While customers listening to audio and low quality video streams would be unaffected, we are concerned that at peak times some customers' higher quality video streams may be interrupted by buffering before falling back to a lower-quality version. This would suggest that traffic identified as BBC iPlayer traffic is being throttled back, thereby limiting the bandwidth used up by the service on slower connections.”

Asking the BT to explain the details of their throttling policy, Cellan-Jones approached BT asking why “they were not being exactly frank with customers”? A spokesman for the provider insisted its policy wasn't affecting the way users could interact with iPlayer as it was still possible to view content at lower streaming speeds. The internet service provider also suggested traffic management was as much BBC's problem: “We believe there is a real issue that content owners like the BBC need to address and we are currently in discussions with the BBC executive to ensure that our customers get the best possible experience in the future.”

Presently, a number of internet service providers throttle broadband speeds at peak times and in order to make rules clearer for customers Ofcom introduced a voluntary code of practice on broadband speeds last year.

Although it wasn't crucial for providers to make fair usage policies clear at the point of sale, the communications watchdog said it was essential traffic shaping policies should be made clear on the providers' websites.