The British Phonographic Institute is dispelling rumours initiated by Internet service providers that claim the cost of implementing a policing service to tackle online piracy could ultimately cost UK broadband subscribers an extra £24 per year.

The plan was proposed after a public outcry from members of the entertainment industry who claim that the practice of illegal file sharing is jeopardizing industry profits.

The British Phonographic Industry has since investigated the allegations of a price increase and have reported that the anti-piracy measures will not end up costing broadband users anywhere near what was initially reported.

The report commissioned by the BPI actually claims that the average broadband user would only pay an additional 24 pence a year on top of normal broadband bills.

But ISPs remain unimpressed by the proposed measures. Charles Dunstone of Talk Talk still claims that steps to combat online piracy could total “hundreds of millions of pounds per year” that will ultimately have to be paid for by consumers.

By Taylor Turner