Will you pay three quid a month to view iPlayer?

Despite repeated pressure on the BBC to pay for the extensive bandwidth used by the iPlayer, it looks as if the general public may end up paying for it instead of the BBC.

According to a report issued by Ofcom, a broadcast regulator, soon households may have to pay £3 more each month for their broadband internet access in an effort to help ISPs absorb the cost of the extra bandwidth that media and video downloads take up due to the iPlayer and other major media video streaming sources.

The managing director of BT’s retail consumer business stated that ISPs cannot continue to pay for customers receiving high amounts of video data if the services providing them do not chip in.

He also mentioned that someone will have to pay, and unfortunately as the BBC and other services deny responsibility it may be the consumers who foot the bill.

Ofcom reports in its Converged Communications in Tomorrow’s World report, the current infrastructure in the UL is close to maximum capacity due to the popularity of popular streaming services such as 4oD Catch-Up and the iPlayer.

This means that soon ISPs will have to upgrade their networks in order to continue to provide access, which will undoubtedly mean they will be looking for more funding which usually means higher service costs for the customers.

Outside of the iPlayer, which is typically free to use, many other video streaming services are also catching flack for clogging up broadcast lines such as Google and the popular YouTube video service.

Story link: Will you pay three quid a month to view iPlayer?