By Tim Ferguson, 28 January 2008 11:00
NEWS
But Ofcom also said it isn't aware of there being any bandwidth reductions as a result of iPlayer but it is "keeping an eye on developments".
Ofcom suggests the next generation of broadband networks may require types of new business models or commercial relationships to fund them.
This could see content providers paying for the delivery of services as well as customers paying to receive them - much like the way retailers and customers pay to use credit card services.
But the other major UK ISPs are less concerned with this issue than Tiscali is.
The list from A to Z
Click on the links below to find out more...
A is for ADSL
B is for BT
C is for Cable & Wireless
D is for Dial-up
E is for Education
F is for Fibre
G is for Goonhilly
H is for HSDPA
I is for In-flight
J is for Janet
K is for Kingston
L is for Landlines
M is for Murdoch
N is for Next generation
O is for Ofcom
P is for Power lines
Q is for Quad-play
R is for Remote working
S is for Satellite phones
T is for Trains
U is for Unbundling
V is for VoIP
W is for WiMax
X is for Xbox
Y is for YouTube
Z is for Zombies
BT told silicon.com the full launch of iPlayer hasn't had any impact on the service its customers receive.
On whether content producers should fund the upgrading of networks, the company said it's "assessing all options to meet the demands of its customers".
Although BT wouldn't say whether it employs traffic shaping, the telco said it manages its network to "ensure the best experience for its broadband customers".
Virgin Media also told silicon.com it has received no reports of reduced bandwidth due to iPlayer usage.
The company said it will soon launch iPlayer via its TV service, which is separate from its broadband, and it is unlikely that additional take-up will have much impact on its broadband service.
Virgin Media added that download services such as iPlayer are a sign of increasing demand for higher bandwidth speeds and said it will continue to improve its network to cope.
But the company did admit it employs traffic management at certain times to ensure heavy users don't disrupt the service of other users.
Orange declined to comment.
For its part, the BBC told silicon.com although its content puts demand into the networks, the solution is not to "throttle demand and by doing so, create a digital divide".
A BBC statement said: "This is not just an issue for the BBC but for all broadcasters and for all content producers."
The Beeb claims it's in the interests of the UK economy for all parties to work together to make sure the country is able to be in the "vanguard of next-generation broadband nations".
At the moment Tiscali is pretty much alone among ISPs in publicly suggesting content providers, such as the Beeb, should stump up to fund broadband network upgrades.
But with Ofcom saying content provider business models may need to change in the future, there is the very real possibility that the BBC et al may one day have to put their hands in their pockets if home internet users are to continue enjoying shows such as Top Gear online.
Comments
There are 4 comments. Join the discussion
1. Rob
I always thought that it was limited international bandwidth that mainly caused congestion and expense for ISPs
For UK ISPs where is the bottleneck going to occur? They can peer with the BBC in London.
If for ADSL users the major contention is at the local exchanges then I wonder if local storage (i.e. a CDN pushed out to the larger exchanges) might help. The BBC have a limited range of programs on iplayer - possibly no more than a few Tb that could be multi-cast to distribution points.
2. Gareth Evans
Many, if not most, Broadband packages have a limit (say, 5 or 10GB per month). So for those people who want to use iPlayer type services they either pay more for an unlimited service or pay for the extra data they use beyond their limit.
So the mechanism is already in place to differentiate between those users that want to use high bandwidth applications and those that don't. So isn't it simply a matter of getting the price right.
3. Simon
It seems simple enough to me !
The content providers (such as the BBC) already pay (quite a bit I expect) for their end of the network. The individual consumers pay for their bit. In between, the UK ISPs all peer with each other (mostly at LINX).
Simply, if it isn't "unlimited" then it shouldn't be called "unlimited" - period. Every service should be sold on the guaranteed rate available (ie the guaranteed rate taking into account contention ratios) with max rate being relegated to the small print. Services should also have a well defined data transfer allowance - again in the large print.
Put both these in the publicity material and people will soon work out what's wrong - once ISPs can no longer lie about how much they've oversold their bandwidth.
People can still have "cheap" or "free" packages if they want - but they'll know what they are (or rather aren't) getting.
At the moment it's hard for an honest & decent ISP to survive, let alone grow. If they compete honestly then the masses ignore them because of the perceived expense of their product. How do you sell something for £30/mo when others 'claim' to be selling the same thing for £10/mo ?
4. Richard Davies
ISP's should foot the bill. The BBC will be paying for a leased line to upload / make content available etc. and so in a way...content providers are already paying. We then as customers are generally paying for bandwidth to download from ISP's for either bandwidth which we never receive or 'fair usage' policies which are only fair to the ISP. This to me means that ISP's are already being paid by everyone...content provider and end customers.
ISP's have been getting money from people for years and must have been feeling very cosy and secure. It is there own fault if they have not seen the future and done proper capacity planning on their networks to ensure that they can cope / keep up with new technology.
Also, most streaming media is UDP based. Unlike TCP this has no built in congestion control and so someone somewhere needs to also invent a TCP-friendly UDP style protocol because until then streaming media will eat up bandwidth whilst TCP backs off for congestion.
Bottom line is though that Tiscali should not be bitching like they are.
Can anyone say for sure that if iPlayer etc. didn't happen that congestion would still not be a problem...they are constantly increasing customer base and so eventually congestion would hit anyway!?!