Broadband providers have warned the BBC that it will have to share network costs in return for the broadcaster offering free downloads on its iPlayer service. [ALL]
Broadband providers have warned the BBC that it will have to share network costs in return for the broadcaster offering free downloads on its iPlayer service.

Senior executives at companies including Tiscali, BT and Carphone Warehouse have told BBC director of new media and technology Ashley Highfield that the potential volume of downloads on the video-on-demand service could put a strain on their networks.

Networks fear they will receive the bulk of complaints if the iPlayer service becomes popular but users find it slow to access.

As well as a financial charge, the networks are also mooting other restrictions to the service. These include slowing down traffic using tags or limiting its bandwidth, which would reduce the volume of users accessing the service at any one time.

Tiscali UK chief executive Mary Turner told the Financial Times: 'The internet was not set up with a view to distributing video. We have been improving our capacity, but the bandwidth we have is not infinite.'

Last month, Enders Analysis predicted that the BBC would fall short of its usage targets for the iPlayer. It said the service would have around 9.25 million users by 2011 against a target of 12.5 million.

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