Broadband News

BT says that clamping down on Internet piracy could cost as much as £1 million per day - and that the consumer is going to have to pick up the bill. John Petter, the firm's consumer division boss,  is warning of a future "arms race" between those who pirate and those who try and police them. Meanwhile, BT is expected to make an announcement about extending its ADSL2+ infrastructure.

BT's made no secret that it's against recent murmurings from the Government about getting tough on illegal file-sharing - including potential proposals to disconnect persistent copyright thieves. The company's chief executive has already put his feelings into print, alongside the likes of Carphone Warehouse’s Charles Dunstone and Orange’s Tom Alexander. However, Mr. Petter's claims have managed to up the sensationalism of the ISP's claims to a level closer to that of the record industry chiefs it's at loggerheads with.

“They’ve lobbied hard and very effectively but that doesn’t make them right,” Petter told The Mirror. “Their claims are melodramatic and assume people would buy all the music that is illegally downloaded, which is nonsense. Laws already exist to enable music companies and other copyright holders to prosecute offenders but they don’t want to take the hit to their public image.” Petter says that no ISP - not even BT - could absorb the cost of effectively policing its Intartubes.

According to a BT spokesperson, the hefty £1 million daily bill Petter has prophesied will result from the costs of integrating the new technologies required to track illegal file-swappers into its network, expenditure on enforcement and spending on notifying and educating its customers as to its new policies. “We feel that instead music labels should develop new business models,” said the BT spokesman, optimistically. “At the moment, they just want to outsource all their problems to ISPs. Legislation before the introduction of Digital Britain did allow music labels to go after people that downloaded copyrighted music, but they did not take advantage of it because it would have generated bad PR for themselves."

A counter-spokesman for the Department for Business managed to sidestep BT's attack. "We have issued a consultation on our proposals. It is clear that the rights holders do suffer harm from file-sharing; it is also clear that tackling unlawful file-sharing will involve costs. We have asked industry for reliable figures on both the damage caused by file-sharing and on the cost these obligations will involve. Any decision would be based on a proper cost-benefit analysis and have to be proportionate. We hope BT will respond to the consultation and provide the information to help us make an informed decision."

While Samknows is sure BT will make time to respond, it's also going to be busy increasing its ADSL2+ horizons, according The Guardian. It's expected to announce it's set to double the reach of its "up to" 24Mbit/s infrastructure - meaning that it should be available to three quarters of the country by spring 2011. The move should increase the number of people capable of receiving Digital British standard 2Mbit/s broadband - whether BT and the Government see eye-to-eye on dealing with P2P or not.