By Tim Ferguson, 14 August 2007 10:36
NEWS
Tiscali has expressed concern about the impact of the BBC's iPlayer on the level of demand for bandwidth on its network.
The beta version of the Beeb's on-demand online TV service was launched on 27 July and has already attracted controversy on several fronts.
Tiscali told silicon.com the ISP feels if additional bandwidth is required for customers to be able to use iPlayer, the BBC should pay for it.
A spokeswoman said: "We don't see any reason why some of the cost of transmission over our network shouldn't be paid by the provider of the content. We don't believe that the potential for it to cause congestion is being properly recognised and acknowledged."
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According to report in The Independent newspaper, other ISPs have also warned the BBC about the extra bandwidth required for iPlayer. The concern centres on the fact iPlayer works on a peer-to-peer basis, meaning it downloads and uploads content, making it a bandwidth-heavy application.
With the number of users for iPlayer likely to be ramped up over the coming few months, ISPs will almost certainly see a rise in demand for bandwidth.
A spokesman for ISP trade association Ispa said: "iPlayer's impact on broadband networks obviously will have to be assessed and looked at over time."
A BBC statement said the corporation is in regular discussions with the ISPs and is monitoring the costs of providing on-demand video.
It added the delivery of TV programmes over the internet is still a "very young service", which will evolve over the next few years. "We will be playing our part in this, and are working closely with ISPs... to deliver the best experience that we can to the audience," the BBC said.
Comments
There are 10 comments. Join the discussion
1. Julian Nicholls
I got a nasty shock when I checked my internet usage on my 20GB per month connection at the beginning of last week. I'd uploaded about 1.4GB over the weekend that was due to the iPlayer. I only watched 1 or 2 programmes.
Many people will only discover this when they get the warning that they're about to go over their allocation, or even worse, when the bill comes for the extra.
2. Gareth Evans
DUH ! Have the ISPs only just realised this was going to be an issue ?
Also how much are they charging YouTube, MySpace et al for all the bandwidth they chew up since they launched.
If they want to get really silly they could start to penalise all those sites that have large pages with loads of images. there was a timewhen site owners limited the size of their pages so they performed well on dial-up connections.
I can see things from their point of view but then again don't they sell their expensive unlimited 8Mb services on the basis that you can watch movies and video streams online ?
Again the UK is lagging behind the rest of the wired world. With the recent report saying that the UK came near the bottom of the league for fast and cheap broadband and now when someone launches a state of the art service the ISPs bellyache about bandwidth usage.
3. anonymous
I think it's about time the ISPs started providing the service they say they are. I'm on Tiscali unlimited 2Mb connection yet if you download too much between 6pm and 11pm you get a warning. I was on their 8Mb connection for a while but there was virtually no speed increase at all. Now I know many things can affect this but if they're advertising these products and quoting figures and using words like unlimited, surely that's what they should provide?
It seems they're keen to advertise all the things you can do when you sign up such as unlimited downloads, stream high quality videos etc but when you do they moan about it.
4. anonymous
Why would anyone wnat to wtch BBC rubbish over the Internet, it's repeated enough on TV
5. Richard Davies
Boo Hoo for ISP's! People are already paying the ISP's for the bandwidth and its the customer so to ask for more money is cheeky at best.
Did they think they can offer these 8Mb packages and unlimited downloads etc. and that no one would use it?!?!
Trouble is they want to take your money for high bandwidth connections but then complain when you try to use it to its full potential! Its a joke really!
Also, if they are not ready for the impact of streaming media should they be in the ISP business...its not as if they couldn't see it coming!
Maybe Tiscali could put heavy QoS in place or even block the iPlayer BBC Content, but if they did, I would like to see how fast customers migrate to another ISP that can handle the pressure and bandwidth requirements!
6. anonymous
A number of ISPs already have a bandwidth quota with a given package - once this is used you have to buy more. Why the whinging ISPs can't simply extend this model I'm not sure - perhaps they'd like to continue using words like "unlimited" even though they are not strictly true, and would be forced to concede this if the alternative were to absorb the bandwidth costs.
The consumer would not necessarily be adverse to paying for extra bandwidth if it was seen as worth it - after all many people pay for extra packages on sky, pay-per-view movies et al. That what you pay bears some relationship to what you consume is hardly revolutionary.
Whatever the reason(s) may be, attempting to stifle the service or getting the BBC to pay for bandwidth seems irrational at best.
The ISPs could use this as an opportunity to extend revenues rather than throw spanners in the works of a promising new Internet application.
May sense prevail!
7. Rob Garner
ISP's only exist to allow users to access content. If an ISP does not want its customers to access content then it will eventually die.
Bandwidth costs little to maintain, ISP's who use some of those monthly fees to keep increasing bandwith will win, those that dont won't.
8. anonymous
You all missed the same point...
... ISPs are NOT there to provide a service to consumers - they are there to MAKE A FAT PROFIT....
Shame on anyone who thinks that they should actually *do something* to make their money ;-))
9. Dave Brown
Hmmm, it seems that the companies that have been promising their customers "unlimited broadband" and supplying much less are worried about being rumbled. If a customer is paying for unlimited broadband, that's what he should get.
10. anonymous
Try zen or demon rather than tiscali. You'll find they have a better network infrastructure and can cope with the number of customers that they take on.
While Tiscali may have to buy a couple more switches to cope with Iplayer, you can be sure the better ISPs have will have bandwidth to spare in advance. Yes they cost a little more, but they are a LOT better.
Another bonus - their homepages don't look like a tabloid newspaper!