I’ve posted a few times about ISPs kicking up a fuss about the amount of bandwidth new applications are using some even suggesting if the content providers don’t help out with costs they’ll be put into the Internet bus lane!

ISPs breaking net neutrality is a really dangerous course to take, effectively allowing companies to disadvantage their competitors over the web. Where does it stop? Only allowing customer access to one website with exclusive access rights for that sector? It’s as bad as standing outside a competitor’s shop and refusing to let customers go in.

Customers pay for bandwidth and expect to have free and unrestricted access to whatever they want on the web - bandwidth throttling goes against this and I think most customers if they were aware of this practices would complain to their ISP or even jump ship.

Now there is a report that Google is working on tools to detect if ISPs are bandwidth throttling - in my opinion this can only be good. If people are aware of the situation they can take action. In the long term this could mean ISPs would have to abandon this approach altogether for fear of losing customers.

It would seem that the BBC’s iPlayer is putting quite a bit of strain on networks around the country. Now ISPs seem to be trying to pass the cost of needed upgrades onto content providers such as the BBC.

I can’t see the ISP’s case here at all essentially they have fallen behind the new technology appearing - some of which has been around sometime. Certainly the move to video isn’t much of surprise so why haven’t they tried to keep up?

By trying to trying to pass the buck onto content providers means these companies aren’t going to be so willing to innovate new technologies because of the costs that might be passed on which could effectively clip the UK’s ability to keep on the cutting edge.

I understand they are seeing the BBC as a different case because “of the unique way it is funded” but because other content providers are doing similar things such as 4OD I don’t see why the license payer should supplement ISPs and specifically BT’s underinvestment in broadband capability.

It’s all very well that BT is trying to roll out 21st century network but we all know this is going to overrun and have teething problems. Can the UK’s backbone even support this new network? We shall have to see.