BBC iPlayer changes set to increase the pressure on ISPs
The BBC is changing a number of aspects of their iPlayer TV and Radio service. Originally conceived as a download “catch up” service using P2P services it is now largely used in streaming mode, no doubt reflecting the technical ability and attention span of the viewing population.
The changes include a new “high quality” option which encodes at 800 kbits/s using H.264 compression rather than the current offering encoded at 500 kbits/s using the On2 VP6 codec. This should mean better quality for those with >1M connections especially when using full screen display. See the BBC website for more details.
As part of the service changes the BBC is also moving away from its previous peering arrangements to use Level3 Communications - a provider that requires all but the largest ISPs to pay it to receive traffic originating within its network. This change will mean many ISPs having to pay for iPlayer traffic without having an equivalent income to offset the cost - perhaps we’ll be seeing “£5/month for unlimited iPlayer use” options appearing before too long.
Plusnet have reported a doubling of iPlayer traffic over their network, this appears largely due to people watching the Olympics at work. With iPlayer traffic at Plusnet alone approaching 1 Gbit/s the amount of bandwidth being used is large and expensive - costing well over £1m per year to provide.
We would expect to see continuing tensions between ISPs and the BBC as the latter uses its tax based funding to create more and more internet based content which the ISPs are then expected to carry for no additional revenue, and in the case of the move to Level3 with a direct increase in their costs.
