5. What do you think is the best solution for deploying next generation access (i.e. what technology would you prefer to see adopted and why)?
ANSWER: See above (Q2).
6. Piracy (i.e. illegal file sharing downloads) has been another of 2009’s many emotive issues, with the Digital Britain report initially setting out a process of warnings to be followed up by service restrictions (blocked sites, P2P speed limits etc.).
Since then Peter Mandelson has forced his way in to add a disconnection (cut-off) policy as an option for tackling persistent illegal downloading suspects. What do you think of this and the original proposals for solving the problem (is there a better solution)?
ANSWER: We want to see a healthy creative industries sector and we don't condone or encourage illegal filesharing. We agree there is a problem. But the approach proposed by the Government is based on the principle of 'guilty until proven innocent' and substitutes proper judicial process for a kangaroo court.
The music industry has recently come together to support what seems, superficially, to be less draconian measures. But in fact they are merely a variation on the Government's theme. What is being proposed is wrong in principle and it won't work in practice. The unintended consequence of the Government's plan will be to encourage more wi-fi and PC hi-jacking and expose more innocent people to being penalised wrongfully.
We have consistently said that the creative industries need to develop new models to stay in tune with technological and social trends. But we also recognise that ISPs can be part of the solution and we are currently developing a series of controls which will give parents the ability to choose different levels of access to the internet.
This will allow them to block BitTorrent (ie filesharing) sites, amongst others. Whilst it won't stop all piracy it could help to reduce significantly the volume of files that are downloaded illegally. More importantly, it does not violate basic human rights, nor ride roughshod over judicial process.
TalkTalk will continue to resist any attempts to make it impose technical measures on its customers (unless directed to do so by a court or recognised tribunal). In the event we are instructed to impose extra judicial technical measures we will refuse to do so and challenge the instruction in the courts.
7. Doubts also remain over the tracking methods used to log illegal downloads, which involves monitoring Internet Protocol ( IP ) addresses on P2P file sharing networks and linking them with specific ISPs and users. This method does not appear to be a reliable way of identifying individuals.
IP addresses are assigned to every computer when you go online, yet they can easily be spoofed, redirected, shared (internet cafe, businesses etc.) or even hijacked (open Wi-Fi networks). The download itself could also be encrypted, making it impossible for the ISP to verify.
What are your thoughts on the current methods employed to track abuses and do you think there is a better way of identifying and confirming illegal downloading activity?
ANSWER: The Government's scheme is wrong-headed and naïve. The lack of presumption of innocence and the absence of judicial process combined with the prevalence of Wi-Fi hijacking will result in innocent people being disconnected.
It won't work in practice. It will actually encourage offenders to use Wi-Fi and PC hijacking more frequently and so increase the chances of innocent users being falsely accused and disconnected.
It is absurd to make people, in effect, legally responsible for the traffic on their internet connections and require them to prevent any unauthorised traffic.
TalkTalk acknowledges that there is a problem with illegal filesharing and that solutions must be found. First and foremost the content industry must develop new business models to make content more easily available and more affordable.
We are happy to play our role alongside this - we're currently developing a series of controls which will give parents the ability to block access to certain filesharing sites through their connections, for instance - but we will continue to strongly resist any approach that does not protect the innocent.
8. Your ISP is currently testing BT’s next generation fibre optic (FTTC/FTTP) broadband technology. Can you tell us any sneaky information about the progress of this pilot and how fast your average speeds have been (upload / download) :) ?
ANSWER: Our fibre trial is now entering a second phase and we are inviting customers from enabled areas to participate. Most of the lines in the trial are getting over 30Mbps download and around 1.7Mbps upload speeds.
End.
