ISP Punishment Could Herald New Services

The U.K. has upped the ante on online music pirating in a move that could presage all sorts of new services.

Six key Internet service providers will join with the U.K.'s Office of Communications (Ofcom) to implement a plan to separate illegal downloaders from their Internet access.

In a plan similar to the "three strikes you're out" rule imposed in France, service providers Virgin Media Inc. (Nasdaq: VMED), BSkyB Ltd. (NYSE, London: BSY), The Carphone Warehouse Group plc , BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA), Orange UK , and Tiscali SpA plan to notify and then monitor anyone found to be uploading or downloading music illegally. Unless the activity stops within three months, offenders will have their access slowed or terminated.

The action, which has been brewing for months, has record companies trilling joyously and Internet rights activists singing the blues.

Me? I'm with Nicole on this one. There's something decidedly sour and authoritarian about this solution. What's more, I see a plan afoot that's aimed at more than serving justice.

While I'm all for copyright protection, one may ask why ISPs are so eager to punish what most consider an underage, if aggressive, group of file-sharers. Is this really the most effective approach?

In one sense, ISPs have themselves to blame for much of the current state of affairs. The popularity of music downloading demands a new model. Several have been suggested, including one that calls for "all you can eat" licensing.

But ISPs have been slow to react with services that can legally replace what folk have been doing illegally.

"What is absolutely crucial is for a genuine alternative to happen," says Mark Mulligan, VP and research director at JupiterResearch . And he doesn't mean iTunes and Napster.

"What needs to be there isn't something that is expensive or restrictive compared with downloading," he notes. "You need something more... a good, compelling legal service with editorial, collaborative content." At one-third the cost of Napster, such a service might help replace the black market with a shiny white one that cashes in on burgeoning demand.

And there you have it. Mulligan thinks ISPs will start offering these new services before the year is out. Seen in that light, one might view the Ofcom deal as a way to help pump the market by throwing a wrench in the downloading works just as the alternatives roll out.

— Mary Jander, ThinkerNet Editor, Internet Evolution