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Lord Mandelson has confirmed that file sharers who download files illegally on the Internet will now have their accounts suspended, in an effort to reduce the amount of people who illegally share files.
He also stated that only two warnings will be given to a consumer before their Internet is cut off, followed by an appeal process for those who want to fight the decision.
According to Mandelson, the new power will only be used as a last resort, and in cases where people consistently broke the law and illegally downloaded files on a persistent basis.
Under the new proposal, ISPs are responsible for taking action against consumers that are accused of sharing illegal film and music files. They also can take additional measures such as slowing down the downloading speeds of certain users before cutting them off.
However, ministers have taken the time to craft the new rules so that ?innocent? file sharing such as copying a CD onto an iPod are not harmed by the new rules.
BT has warned that with the new ISP responsibilities, the price of broadband may rise due to the fact that all of the costs incurred with cutting of a user?s Internet falls on the ISP?s themselves.
Filed under: Broadband News and Reviews by Alan
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TalkTalk, Orange, and BT as well as Which? are some of the top telecom companies and consumer watch groups that believe the new proposals from the Government regarding illegal filesharing are not realistic.
Lord Mandelson proposed to the top five telecoms providers in a meeting that in order to reduce and prevent people from illegal downloads it should be the provider?s jobs to cut their internet connection as punishment.
David Geffen and Mandelson came up with the idea while dining together in Corfu. This is not the firs the first disapproval of the idea, as the Digital Britain Review from the Lord Carter earlier in the year rejected the idea as well.
Representatives from the telecoms industry and consumer groups stated in a press release that the move to make broadband operators responsible would threaten the rights of consumers and also would stall new development in terms of service offerings.
The group collectively wrote a statement that stated that punishment measures for illegal downloading should be run by Ofcom and not the service providers.
The statement also addressed the fact that consumers need to be considered innocent until they are found guilty and that taking away the process of due law by cutting internet connections does not allow consumers the right to defence.
The statement by the group also stated that ISPs and consumers should not be given the responsibility of paying for the disciplinary actions since most customers do not engage in illegal file sharing and thus the content industry would face high costs that could prevent further advancement.
The ISP Karoo began cutting off those suspected of illegal downloads in July, but quickly stopped after public outcry followed their move stating that they decided to take a more moderate approach by following a new ?three strikes and you?re out? guideline
Filed under: Broadband News and Reviews by Alan
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Lord Mandelson called a meeting of the top executives of the largest five mobile broadband networks in the UK to coordinate the government?s effort to get broadband to everyone at acceptable rates by 2012.
The meeting is the second of its kind to take place in the last few weeks and will pick up where Lord Carter left off after the commission of the Digital Britain Report.
Lord Mandelson?s department advocated last week that guidelines be set up across the UK that punish those who infringe copyright laws by cutting of their broadband connections.
Another proposal set in motion by Lord Carter for an additive ?6 levy on landlines to pay for faster broadband across the country is set to fail as it is not expected to get passed by Conservatives who are looking towards the next year?s elections.
According to the initial Digital Britain Review, achieving broadband use across the country is reliant on broadening the range of broadband signals into the more rural and remote areas of Britain.
However, in order to achieve this all five networks must agree to split the original spectrum that was given to O2 and Vodafone back in the 80?s when they first began operating wireless networks. The 900MHz spectrum allows signals to be carried farther.
Also to be discussed will be the manner in which the way the government auctions off 800MHz spectrum that will be freed up after the switch from analogue to digital TV.
Filed under: Broadband News and Reviews by Alan
