BT has denied newspaper claims (here) that it had been working with Tiscali and the Carphone Warehouse to pressure the BBC's new video-on-demand (VoD) iPlayer technology with service restriction threats.

Instead the operator, which also runs its own IPTV service known as BT Vision, has stated that its only concern is the way in which iPlayer runs in the background. iPlayer is based off the Kontiki P2P distribution system that consumes data even while you're not using it, eating into a customers monthly download allowance.

However at its core this is the very same issue that Tiscali and others have concerns about too, though their methods of vocally declaring/challenging that may differ. Meanwhile the BBC continues to insist that they are "in regular discussions with the ISP's and together are monitoring the costs associated with video-on-demand.".

Whatever happens, this dilemma is unlikely to go away with a market so heavily dominated by rival IPTV services and dangerously cheap pricing. Flexibility is not something the big ISP’s can always afford.