Tiscali Wades Into Row With The BBC
How bizarre that the first time the BBC actually deliver something ground breaking they are hit with a barrage of criticism which seems to be growing louder each day. While the likes of YouTube have revolutionised the internet, the BBC iPlayer (which allows you to watch full programs on your computer during the 7 days after they were shown) has taken the sector to a different level. Figures show that viewing requests grew by 25% alone last month with over 17 million people using the iPlayer to watch their favourite BBC programs. So what is wrong?
It seems that this massive increase in use has caught many IPS by surprise and shown the possible limitations of their current systems. Tiscali have particularly vocal over the last few days suggesting that the BBC should contribute to the estimated ?800 million cost to upgrade the current system, but is this really fair?
You will notice that we have not seen the likes of Google suggesting that the BBC should contribute, possibly because they are receiving massive exposure for their Google adverts via the new systems. It seems that while Tiscali and some other companies were more than happy for the consumer to pay for the last round of network upgrades, they now feel that successful companies should subsidise their services and infrastructure upgrades ? in which other business arena has this even been suggested?
The truth is that the iPlayer is the first of many extensive online media services which are sure to come on line over the next decade, services which will show the serious under investment which the UK internet sector has experienced for some time. We hear these big headline numbers with regards to investment by the ISPs but the truth is that we, the customer, have been funding these for some time. As more and more ISPs clamour to blame the BBC for their short comings we may well see some major changes in the industry over the next few years.
Companies such as BT have recognised the problem and are doing something about it, while others are complaining about the added cost ? which companies looks as though they are struggling and which seem fully funded for the future?
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