Two-tier trouble
BT has started to sell a controversial service to broadband providers that gives them the means to form a two-tier web, sparking criticism from internet rights groups.
In a bid to cash in on an increasing amount of people downloading and streaming videos, BT's new service is reportedly designed to allow high bandwidth material to be streamed to consumers without annoying interruptions even at peak times.
Dreamt up by BT's wholesale unit, the new service lets some video content reach consumers in better condition than others, enabling ISPs to charge content owners more money to deliver their products in high quality, The FT reported.
BT has apparently started giving its retail unit plus other telecoms firms the opportunity to buy into the service, which is called Content Connect. BT's retail arm is apparently already using the service to supply its TV customers with BBC iPlayer.
While uninterupted video streaming sounds great in theory, it could be assumed that the cost of the service will somehow be passed on to consumers and that the very principle of net neutrality is at stake.
While The Open Rights Group has reportedly warned that Contect Connect undermines the idea that web traffic should be treated equally, BT's head of wholesale, Sally Davis has dismissed accusations that the service will lead to a two tier web where smaller content owners will lose out to larger and richer rivals who can afford to pay for extra quality delivery.
Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group, reportedly said: "BT's plans have the potential to end up with a two-tier internet, with customers increasingly tied to bundled services [from broadband providers], and a reduction in competition across the open internet."
However, Davis argued that ISPs are increasing their download speeds so the quality of basic ‘over-the-top' or presumably higher bandwidth content is already improving across the board.
Davis told the newspaper that ISPs are showing ‘considerable' interest in the new network and that providers could actually reduce their costs by forking out for the service as it could reduce their spending on ‘backhaul' connections between their infrastructure and telephone exchanges.
The network will reportedly rely on servers placed relatively close to homes and offices so that data can travel short distances, giving consumers more chance of watching videos without interruption.
Davis reportedly said ISPs might be able to give consumers a option to pay an on-demand charge to watch a live event, such as a concert or football match...in addition to the ususal charges associated with watching premium content.
