The UK Internet Service Providers Association ( ISPA ), specifically its governing council, yesterday voted in four new heavy hitting members representing BT , Eclipse Internet , Everything Everywhere ( Orange , T-Mobile ) and O2 . The council itself is responsible for setting policies and is made up of ten people from the ISPA's 200 strong industry membership list, representing more than 95% of the UK Internet access market by volume.

The move is significant, not least because it is the first time that any of the aforementioned ISPs have had a place on the ISPA's council. In addition, most of the other council members represent smaller businesses and having some heavy weights behind the throne could be useful in giving the organisation more clout.

It goes without saying that UK ISPs are currently under mounting pressure, both in terms of adaption to new technologies and from a vast swathe of fresh government legislation (e.g. new internet copyright infringement laws, ecommerce directives and Network Neutrality policies). New rules and guidelines from the ASA and Ofcom UK are also playing a part.


It's good to see the ISPA getting a bit of extra weight, although there are some areas that could potentially cause contention, such as in regards to new fibre optic line taxation (the tax currently favours big operators over smaller ones); little and large don't always think alike.