BBC says ISPs should not throttle downloads

The BBC’s technology chief, Ashley Highfield, has hit out at internet service providers (ISPs) that attempt to 'traffic-shape' downloads from its iPlayer service.

Traffic shaping is a means of controlling the volume of users visiting a network at any one time.

Mr Highfield, the BBC’s director of future media and technology, said in a blog that “unlimited broadband should mean unlimited” and ISPs that practise traffic shaping should be named and shamed.

Mr Highfield also criticised ISPs for suggesting that content providers such as the BBC pay them “a congestion charge” to cope with increased traffic levels.

"ISPs are already charging their customers for broadband to receive any content they want. ISPs should be clearer in their marketing. Unlimited broadband should mean unlimited.

"Content providers that find their content being specifically squeezed, shaped or capped could start to indicate on their sites which ISPs their content worked best on (and which to avoid),” he said.

The row broke out last year when ISPs started to complain about the extra traffic that the BBC’s iPlayer service would generate. Many believed that the corporation should fund the extra bandwidth that people would be using.

However instead of penalising consumers and content providers, Mr Highfield has recommended a 'broadband charter', which in content is similar to that called for by Computeractive's Crystal Clear Broadband campaign.

The term 'unlimited broadband' should mean exactly that and ISPs should guarantee minimum bandwidth rather than maximum, so customers know what they should be getting.

Measures could also include the BBC taking steps to minimise the impact of the iPlayer on ISP networks. These include 'bookmarking' shows, where episodes are automatically placed in a queue to download during off-peak evening hours.