Despite numerous delays, technical hiccoughs, and the exclusion of Mac owners, the BBC’s online catch-up service, the iPlayer, has been a resounding hit with broadband punters, eager to watch Beeb programmes from the last seven days on their computer screens.
However, the rise of the iPlayer has been blamed for a sharp rise in online traffic, as much as 60 per cent, according to the UK’s top ISPs – the average download from the iPlayer weighs in at 300Mb. This has sparked fears that new traffic shaping policies will have to come into affect in order provide enough bandwidth for all customers. This could see users either having to cough up for extra bandwidth every month as downloads eat into their usage limits or, in the worst case scenario, be relegated to dial-up speeds once they exceed their limit – the same applies for Channel 4’s equally popular 4oD platform and the Sky Anytime download service.
Customers surfing on packages which come with a small usage limit, such as 1 or 2GB would find themselves up against the wall after just a handful of programmes. PlusNet customers can opt to pay out an extra 75p for an additional GB of usage with their Broadband Your Way packages. Virgin Media customers should not be affected, provided that they surf outside of peak times (4pm-9pm), which is pretty much when everyone is going to want to use it.
A report in the Sunday Times suggests that on average, an hour long Facebook session eats up 80MB of data, whereas the same amount of time on Myspace will set you back 400Mb.
Similar Posts:
fanta said on 11 Mar 2008 at 3:33 pm #
This is one of the big arguments against net neutrality … large ISPs are saying “hey, everyone’s getting a free ride watching TV, and consumers and the BBC don’t have to pay for it”. When you consider how much people *are* paying their ISPs, and in turn how much the ISP is paying BT Wholesale, not to mention the bandwidth costs the BBC have to pay, there’s only one company getting a free ride …
now then now then said on 14 Mar 2008 at 11:52 am #
The BBC fluffed it on this one big time. Even though 4oD is mentioend in this article, anyone wonder why there’s been all this fuss about the iPlayer eating up bandwidth and there’s been hardly a whisper about 4oD? Not only is the iPlayer months late, it’s also buggy as hell, bandwitdh hungry, and not to mention a total waste of licence payer’s money. I’m praying for the day when Thompson resigns, and the BBC gets a more competent director.
Not that there’s anything worth catching up on at the moment on the Beeb. All the good stuff is on Dave!