UK Communications Regulator Enters File-Sharing Debate
Written by enigmax on July 08, 2008The head of Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition organization for the communication industries in the UK, has suggested that they may not stay silent on the issue of file-sharing for much longer.
The Office of Communications, or Ofcom as it’s better known, is the UK’s independent regulator for the communications industry. Awarded power from the government under the Communications Act 2003, it has a duty to care for the rights and interests of UK citizens and consumers while protecting them from harmful and offensive material. It also has a responsibility to promote healthy competition in the telecoms marketplace.
At the Intellect Conference 2008, the head of Ofcom, Ed Richards, made a speech. In it he touched on many issues but in an unusual move for Ofcom, towards the end of the speech he made some comments about file-sharing in the UK. In a section entitled “Sticking To Principles Of Good Regulation”, Richards stresses that Ofcom must not “duck difficult questions” where doing so would impact the long term success of the communications market. Of course, the question of online piracy is one such ‘difficult question’ in what Richards describes as a “complex digital environment”.
Richards notes that just because Ofcom has not been overly vocal on the subject of file-sharing, that shouldn’t be interpreted as disinterest: “To date, Ofcom has not made a lot of public noise about the piracy issue. But that should not be mistaken for a lack of interest or concern. Our formal locus may be limited. But this sort of piracy is something that affects network operators, ISPs, content creators and consumers – and as the converged regulator we have of course been keeping a watchful eye on developments.”
Going on to speak about the need for ISPs and telecoms companies to invest in improved systems for a developing Internet, Richards notes that these businesses need to be assured that they can return profit on their investments:
“An operator investing in next generation networks will not want it clogged up with illegal peer-to-peer content if that means no-one will pay to ensure a return on the investment, as we have seen in some Asia Pacific markets. And content providers, self evidently, do not want illegal traffic undermining their investment in IPR.”
Richards feels that the issue of piracy is important for network providers and creators of content alike, and says that he hopes business agreements can be reached to find a solution, presumably as an alternative to a government implemented strategy such as the controversial “3 strikes” idea.
ISPs make a lot of money from their subscribers, with media-hungry file-sharers investing in high-bandwidth premium packages more often than regular users. With around 6 million file-sharers in the UK, these customers are a significant driving force behind the need to create the next generation Internet Richards mentioned earlier.
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36 Responses
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What a waste of time this piracy rubbish is. Swim with the tide not against it baby.
oh joy more annoyances against filesharing in the UK -_-
Let me be the fifth person to add in with actual feedback on the article.
It’s not in the interest of Ofcom to rile the ISPs and content creators (or owners, depending on which entity - the author or the publisher - has a larger say on a piece of work).
I think it’s inevitable that people here wise up to the reality of tiered consumer connection plans or bandwidth caps. Regardless of whether ISPs themselves should upgrade their bandwidths to match the Japanese, the Taiwanese or the Koreans’, if there is no public will to bring such high-speed technology to their states and nations, then, “WELCOME TO KAZAKHSTAN!”
a guy (as head of an office of communications) that used the MAFIAA hijacked term “piracy” for something that is called copyrightinfringement is not only NOT to be taken seriously, but hould be put under extensive surveilance by the “consumers”
He will problably marry “downwardspiralgirl”-indiana once her now husband is finished with her and had realised that he can not milk any more money form that non talend chick and then Indiana and Mr. Richards will play “off-com internet police”!
British society beware!
Damn them all to hell!
pointless..
HEY UH.. we don’t talk a lot but were really like thinking about this kinda stuff… and we should really think about a sensible solution..
no shit Sherlock.. we have been saying that for years.. glad you grew a brain, any new ideas? Of course not..
I know nothing about the company or office, but it sounds like they do absolutely nothing except talk in a bunch of circles. Any company put into action by the government is already a bad sign, but even worst then there purpose is to PROTECT YOU FROM STUFF!
Same absolute travesty in the US how police give you tickets for not wearing a seat belt.. TO PROTECT YOU FROM YOURSELF.
Useless office, just saying something so they don’t seem incompetent or so people dont realize there all asleep over there doing nothing..
If got told by my ISP that all peer to peer and the like would be blocked, would goto the really cheap tier and they would lose money as there would be no need to pay extra for unlimted access
If unable to play before I buy music, then purchasing of CD’s will fall to zero
what happens to all the legal peer to peer like mininova offerings ?
Ofcom are f**king useless, less than useless. When all that crap came out about the secret BT/Phorm trials, that piece of distended rectum Kurt Wotsit and the head of BT should have been publicly flogged by OFCOM, but no, OFCOM simply wagged its finger at BT and Phorm told them they were naughty boys.
OFCOM is just like toothless, old dog, should be taken out the barn and put out of it’s misery, we should then petition the government for an organisation with some fecking balls, to start hitting the comms companies where it hurts!
yes… OFCOM, those guys who make sure the skirts of the girls in eastenders aren’t to short… Please give me a break, when will the UK finally have something decent about it?
P.S if your in the UK and want to help fight this crap look to help ORG >> http://www.openrightsgroup.org/
The whole point of OFCOM is to make sure the biggest boys keep making the most money. Also, to a lesser extent that the smaller boys dont go bust and make big fuss.
With that remit, its pretty clear what side they are going to take. The government wants things to stay exactly as they are except that they want to make more money in taxes too. This is their answer in the ‘communications industry’.
Same bollocks over and over again.
And whats with everyone going first, second, third, fourth etc?
The funny things is BT have stated that “there is no demand for 50mbps services in the UK”…i have 20 from virgin media and i am happy!I download around 200gigs a month on average and will continue to do so.
It is really simple…the only way for the media companies to win is to put all their content online for free with ad supported.the “piracy” industry would be dead in months!there is no way in hell im waiting an extra week to see lost when i can get it the same night it airs in the US…idiots!
and OFCOM are the biggest twats on the planet!they wont even take public complaints. they only deal with complaints from rival companies LOL.
whats more is that they allow BT to continue providing the worse service i have ever came accross for anything (and i mean that fully) and do nothing about it.
im so stupid i need government agencies and offices to protect me from offensive materials.. and of course myself.. else i actuley might have to do something for myself and think.. that would be horrible.. so glad im forced to not think for myself
thank god
Filesharers are THE INTERNET. With some 70%+ of all internet traffic being filesharing of one kind or another, a surefire way to go broke is by pissing off the majority of your premium package buying customers. What would they be left with? A few million low paying subscribers. The knock on effect? Charging them more to compensate for the loss in revenue from the filesharers you just told to fuck off. Who wins? Absolutely no one.
I am trying to find some way to create some kind of political movement to change copyright law, but I need help to do such a thing.
I am soliciting the support of the readers of TorrentFreak to join the e-mail group at http://www.28chan.org/pledge.php so that we can plan together to attempt to start a social and political movement to legalize non-commercial file-sharing of copyrighted material.
Izumi … nice try, but better contact your local piracy party. Much easier.
@ 16 - Izumi-sensei
Man, we’ve talked about this, your becoming SPAM, your getting to as bad as the people your fighting?
Anyways… Anyone seen the Knock Off Nigel ads in the UK again? There’s a link to the website here on the right.
Now can someone explain to me, does Knock Off Nigel refer to him being a cheap skate? or is it the Movie/Music industries prefered thing to do with illegal downloading, Knock them off? I get the message a little confused…
“An operator investing in next generation networks will not want it clogged up with illegal peer-to-peer content if that means no-one will pay to ensure a return on the investment, as we have seen in some Asia Pacific markets.”
This is complete and utter bullshit.
New technology is fast enough to be able to handle peer to peer content with relative ease. It’s the old crumbling dinosaurs that are staggering under it’s weight. When you invest in new networks, it’s the filesharers that give you your return on your investment. They’re the ones that are putting food on your table.
Just talk to Verizon.
I don’t think OFCOM are that bad. I’m not suggesting the Sun shines out their arse but the broadband industry could be much worse in the UK. It could be more like the poorly regulated, heavily pro-corporate and monopolistic affair you’ll find over in North America, for instance. No thanks, you can keep that. You can keep your one/two mega corporation lack of choice due to no competition config. Giant Douche, or Turd Sandwich, anyone?
Piracy’s a good driver for demand. OFCOM know this but there are pressures to curtail it because it doesn’t serve everyone’s interests fairly. I think it’s a difficult and complex situation between media companies and network access providers with ‘piracy’ of relative significance sat in the middle.
I don’t, as most (anyone?), have any surefire answers. Maybe the media companies should strike deals with the ISPs to provide a content distribution service to ISP subscribers that serves all interests involved. The ISPs have the facility. The media companies the product. The subscribers the appetite. Configure an attractive, competitive system with an interest in creating fairness for all. Challenge piracy by offering an attractive alternative for a majority of consumers. If it serves consumer interest (fairly priced, legitimate, high-quality, fast, easy, …) there will be demand. If the arrangement serves ISP interests (legitimacy, security, profitability, …) they’ll have more incentive to put pressure on piracy. Media companies could stand to regain their authoritive position of control over the distribution of their media. They also get paid. They also make friends with the real powers here, the ISPs, who may through self-interest serve to fight their cause.
Maybe OFCOM could help regulate something like this if deemed necessary. If they (all parties involved) can progressively squeeze piracy out to be replaced with legitimate and in-demand services, they could provide a more attractive incentive for investment into next-gen infrastructure development, one not so driven by current demand fuelled by the uncertainty and unfair act of unbridled piracy. Hopefully, though, if OFCOM do choose to do something they don’t just act irrationally by serving the interests of a few.
Everyone look at this site:
http://www.knockoffornot.com/default.aspx
Now firstly the ad calls him a crappy little man… Those are pretty strong words for an advert, gypses get called less, plus it’s pretty much a bully advert to me. Secondly there online game involves pelting people who download with tomatoes and such…
Surely this should be something to complained about to Ofcom???
Ofcom are a very fair body.
They don’t agree and rule on their beliefs; they look out for the entire interest of the public and any middle man in-between.
Ofcome stopped mobile networks o2, t-mobile (and any other mobile operator who has offices in the UK) to cap prices on overseas call charging if they had operations in that country too.
That meant, we, as a customer were rewarded with capped rates and these networks took the bullet.
In this situation Ofcom won’t just look at what’s right or wrong. If Ofcom can prove file-sharers are what keeps these ISP in business; that’s just one step in favour of making illegal file-sharing legal. And don’t get too carried away, you might find Ofcom going into debates and are in favour of file-sharers but pull out at the last minute. Why? Who wants to destroy the entire economy with making illegal file-sharing legal.
Legalization of file sharing is unlikely to destroy anything. Public awareness is slow to change and the current business model will probably have a few years o evolve into something compatible with file sharing and avoid destruction.
Here’s a nice idea… let those that want to use _*ANY*_ p2p service to access this so called “content” of theirs pay a monthly premium on their net bill(I know I would pay 10-20eur/month for that). This premium would go to the collection bodies that so hunger for the money(or better yet… directly to the artists/etc… of those that the user downloads(I know I wouldn’t mind doing a questioner about what I’ve downloaded in the last month to make the money spread out properly.
The main thing here is _*ANY*_… Not ours/theirs/etc… _*ANY*_ that includes bittorrent, emule etc… whichever service I choose that isn’t extra pay should be covered by this… Imagine all the revenue they could get from punters this way. 1000*20=20000 now that isn’t that small a fee now is there…
C’mon start thinking… Make such deals with tv studios etc…
6 million file sharers in the UK?
There is shit-loads more than that.
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