BBC backs plans for 'tiered' video streaming service

The BBC’s Controller for Vision and Online Media, Anthony Rose has backed the idea of tiered broadband tariffs following plans by the corporation to tier its own iPlayer.

iPlayer is currently streaming at 0.8mbps and the BBC is proposing this as a middle ground between a high rate 1.5mbps and a slower 0.5mbps service to suit the connection speeds of different users.

The BBC’s video on demand service accounts for approximately 7% of the bandwidth in the U.K during peak times. During the summer, however, the BBC’s online video streaming of the Olympics accounted for 20% of all broadband traffic in the U.K and this has led to fears that unrestricted viewing could lead to potential overload.

In a recent interview, Rose suggested that this ‘should provide ISPs with an opportunity to market different products to fit different viewing needs and different budgets.’

"The ISPs license the bandwidth for IP stream, based on peak usage. For this reason, iPlayer traffic is costing those ISPs. It is not just iPlayer, all traffic from YouTube, Facebook and other services is costing them."

The corporation is also encouraging people to download content during off peak hours in order to reduce strain on bandwidth. This could potentially be achieved by the implementation of Peer-to-Peer file sharing.

James Wilkinson of video streaming and production company Streaming Tank commented on these reports by stating:

“Many people will argue that because we already pay for TV license that there should be no need to pay for better quality content. However, it is worth remembering that ISPs are paying for the vast amount of video streaming data that these services command so tiering the service to suit the different connection speeds and reduce strain on bandwidth is a good idea.”

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