Britain's biggest phone company and ISP provider BT has challenged the BBC to start contributing to the costs ISPs are incurring from the success of the iPlayer service, saying that the company 'can't expect to continue to get a free ride'.
The huge success of the iPlayer's online service has enraged many ISPs, who have complained vociferously about the amount of bandwidth that the Beeb's streaming service takes up. BT itself recently came under fire (as we reported) over claims it was limiting connection speeds at iPlayer peak download times.
Governing body Ofcom has stood firm in the Beeb's camp though, noting that it doesn't believe Auntie should bear the cost of upgrading broadband connections - the true problem behind the limited streaming capabilities.
It thus seems unlikely that the BBC will be forced into contributing towards ISP costs (for now), although if iPlayer's popularity continues to grow at the current rate, threatening TV sales and thus licence revenue, then that may change.
Whatever happens, if it's going to affect you, then we'll let you know what's happening.
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
