BT rubbishes BBC bandwidth throttling reports

'We're not part of the iPlayer gang'

By Chris Williams • Get more from this author

Posted in Telecoms, 13th August 2007 15:35 GMT

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Swift denial BT has denied reports that it is working with other ISPs to pressurise the BBC or consumers into paying extra for delivery of iPlayer on demand TV shows.

Chief press officer Adam Liversage contacted The Reg this afternoon to distance the telco from a predictable net neutrality row. He countered reports citing unnamed BT sources in The Independent on Sunday, Financial Times, and Mail on Sunday that link the telco with comments from Tiscali boss Mary Turner. She said the bandwidth demands of the iPlayer may be too much for ISPs to bear.

Liversage wrote: "Whilst we've been fingered as 'part of the gang' in certain press reports, BT is not complaining about or discussing the implications of iPlayer with the BBC."

The IOS story had quoted a "senior insider": "It is certainly a live debate between ISPs and the BBC. If the BBC gets the numbers it wants for iPlayer then network capacity could become an issue." The paper reported that BT had made its feelings known to the Beeb's new media chief Ashley Highfield.

Liversage rebuffed the claims: "We're not up in arms about iPlayer, we're not complaining to the BBC or discussing it with them."

He wrote that BT's only concern over iPlayer was that people would be unaware that the Kontiki P2P distribution system which runs in the background would be eating into their monthly GB usage allowance even when they are not viewing or downloading.

So there you have it. ®

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