Dont be caught out by broadband charges for BBC live streaming

Consumers have been warned that in order to watch live streaming media without incurring any penalties hefty download limits and a high-speed broadband internet connection will be needed.

With the live streaming of both BBC1 and BB2 recently by the BBC, it has been recommended that consumer ensure that they are not going to breach the fair usage policies that their providers have put in place by checking their internet contracts. It is clear that many users will not have the considerable download limits and super fast broadband connection to allow then to stream data live.

A product director at a popular broadband comparison site said “The BBC, as a public service broadcaster, has a responsibility to educate users about the impact of watching live streaming. It has the potential to impact viewers’ broadband service and they might incur punitive charges through accessing high quantities of this content.”
There are a number of broadband tips given to get the most out of live streaming and they are:

- Use the iPlayer to download any content you want to watch through the night when there are often less strict caps or even unmetered usage instead of watching the streams live.

- If you think you will be using streaming applications or video downloads on a regular basis check your existing package details and if necessary compare packages with bigger limits on downloads and higher speeds. Many comparison sites make it easier to find the best package.

- Install monitoring software to check how much you download over the month and when you reach your limit it will alert you.

The product director also said “In terms of speed, Be there and Virgin Media offer packages with fast headline download rates. In terms of download limits, O2 and Be There have fair usage policies that are more accommodating than most other ISPs. Anecdotally, they have never enforced restrictions to any customers for legitimate use. Sky has a top package that is currently the only service to offer truly unlimited downloads without any caveats.”