Another broadband provider has now started to threaten customers with disconnection if they are found to be illegally downloading.

Over recent weeks Virgin Media has started to issue warnings to broadband customers if they are found to be illegally downloading material, informing them that they are at risk of having their service disconnected. Virgin is working on a three strikes and you’re out basis. More recently the UK’s largest broadband provider, BT, has also started to threaten customers with disconnection if they are found to be illegally downloading.

BT is threatening customers that are found to be sharing copyright music over peer to peer networks, and one of the customers that it wrote to was found to have done this with a Girls Aloud track called Biology. This indicates that BT has now joined the battle to stop this sort of illegal activity, and has been working with the BPI in order to implement this, although it is not yet known whether a three strikes method will be used, as it has been with Virgin Media.

A BPI official said: “Establishing partnerships with ISPs is the number one issue for the BPI, and we are beginning to form positive working relationships with BT, Virgin Media and most of the other major ISPs.” He added: “Everyone agrees on where we need to be, and we are working closely with our colleagues across the music community, the more progressive ISPs, and government to get us there.”

Officials from BT stated: “We don’t comment on commercial relationships and communications with individual customers.” However, the firm went on to state that if the BPI can provide evidence against broadband customers, as it did with the customer that has already been contacted, then the other customers could also expect to get similar warnings.