I read this story in the news today (click here). Apparently internet service providers in the UK are miffed with the BBC, as their iPlayer leads too many customers to downloading massive content. The network cannot cope. Can I just say how pathetic the ISP's are?! I did see Virgin Internet (cable) advertised 'glass fibre' speedy internet and boasting there the only glass fibre provider in the UK. Very interesting though if they can only offer a download speed of 24 mbps, and an upload speed that's far less. In the Netherlands, in the relative backwaters of Nijmegen, I could get 10mbps cheaply. And unlike Virgin's 24mbps, it wasn't dependent on how close or far you live from a phone or cable substation. The upload speed was the same as the download speed, a huge advantage if you like using Youtube, Flickr et cetera. The maximum speed, still affordable, was set at 100 mbps when I left for the UK.

What bothers me about UK ISP's is how they dare NOT invest in a proper glass fibre network anywhere, even experimenting on a small scale is beyond them. They do however castigate content providers like the BBC for making t'internet too interesting. Perhaps they misinterpret the IT term 'backward compatible' - you don't need to be backward to be compatible. Well, perhaps if like Tony Blair you want to be compatible with the US. The North Sea is wider than the Atlantic for some.