AT&T, Comcast and Verizon Will Punish Naughty Subscribers

    

Seems like we have gone back a few years, when illegal P2P file sharing was the main (or only) source for on-line media. 10 years after media sharing started, CNET reports that US largest ISPs will (somehow) detect piracy and take actions against subscribers using it extensively. Since ISPs do not like these subscribers anyway, this may serve their goals as well.

Greg Sandoval  (picture) reports that "After years of negotiations, a group of bandwidth providers that includes AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon are closer than ever to striking a deal with media and entertainment companies that would call for them to establish new and tougher punishments for customers who refuse to stop using their networks to pirate films, music and other intellectual property, multiple sources told CNET .. Under the proposed plan, participating bandwidth providers would adopt a "graduated response" to subscribers who repeatedly infringe copyrights. ISPs would first issue written warnings, called Copyright Alerts, to customers accused by content creators of downloading materials illegally via peer-to-peer sites, the sources said. Should a subscriber fail to heed the warning, an ISP could choose to send numerous follow-up notices. The plan, however, requires ISPs to eventually take more serious action .. such as throttling down an accused customer's bandwidth speed or limit their access to the Web".

See "Exclusive: Top ISPs poised to adopt graduated response to piracy" - here.

"Sources in the music and film sectors said that their antipiracy measures, coupled with the emergence of popular legal services, such as Netflix and Amazon, which provide inexpensive content that is also easy to access, has put them in the best possible position to compete with Web piracy".

I'd add iTunes, who pioneered the idea of legal content at a reasonable cost. And one more correction - services with proper QoE!