Broadband News

In Hull, when it comes to ISPs there's only one game in town - and it's cutting off suspected pirates without warning. Karoo, which is thought to be the only Internet Service Provider in the UK that's adopted the policy, asks affected customers to sign a waiver before it'll reconnect them.

The way it works is simple: first, a content owner - such as a record or film company - gets in touch with Karoo and tells them its copyrighted material is being shared illegally by a user. Then, after the ISP is satisfied that information is correct, the suspected pirate is disconnected. And Karoo won't reconnect them until they've signed paperwork saying they won't repeat their offence - which some see as forcing them to admit to piracy.

Andrea Robinson, who was disconnected without notice on Tuesday, is one of them. She says she then received a letter through the post, stating she'd been allegedly been downloading Christian Bale flick Terminator Salvation and asking her to visit the firm's offices. "They gave me a form to sign to get reconnected," she told BBC Humberside. "The form basically said 'if I admit my guilt you'll reconnect me'. So I didn't sign it and walked out. I'm still not reconnected."

In Hull, once you're cut off, you can't just go and sign up to another ISP: there aren't any. All of the infrastructure there - right down to the phone lines - is owned by Karoo's parent company, Kingston Communications. (Its presence in the area is so great that even the local Premier League football stadium bears its name). According to reports, some former customers have now been without Internet access for around two years.

But Nick Thompson, director of consumer and publishing services at Kingston Communications, told the BBC he thinks it's a "responsible approach." "We are protecting people from illegal activity," he says. "There are no benefits for us. In fact, when we cut off customers we're actually reacting against our own interests because we don't charge customers for that period when the service is suspended."

Karoo appears to be the only ISP that's adopted a one strike policy. While countries like France and New Zealand have toyed around with "three strikes" legislation, the British Government made it clear disconnecting people was not the "preferred option." For now, it still wants ISPs to send out letters to warn illegal file-sharers of what could happen to them if they don't repent. However, with the Digital Britain report hinting that ISPs will have a greater responsibility to police their customers that could change soon.

The Open Rights Group for one is hoping Karoo's methods don't catch on with other Internet providers. "It's totally unfair to disconnect people without giving them any warning at all," says its executive director, Jim Killock. "In fact, disconnection is something that should only even possibly be considered as a result of court action." Presumably that's why Winston Churchill once said "If you're going through Hull, keep going" (sic).

UPDATE: Following increased opposition to - and media coverage of - its long-standing one strike policy, Karoo has now changed to a more orthodox "three strikes" rule. The ISP will henceforth send out three warning letters before disconnecting anyone.

It explained its change of heart via a statement, signed off by Nick Thompson (Karoo’s director of consumer and publishing services), saying it has been "exceeding the expectations of copyright owners:"

We have always taken a firm line on the alleged abuse of our internet connections.

However, we continually review our policies and procedures to reflect own customers’ changing needs and evolving use of the internet.

It is evident that we have been exceeding the expectations of copyright owners, the media and internet users. So, we have changed our policy to move in more line with the industry standard approach.

It later emerged that under the one strike policy the first reconnection had been free, but subsequent reconnections had cost £30 each.

Further details at [BBC News] and [The Guardian]