Superfast broadband ‘will encourage illegal downloading’- survey
- Added:
- Apr 19, 2010
Building up next generation networks has been a key battleground for the Labour Government and the Conservatives in the run up to the election so far, but a new survey from moneysupermarket.com reveals the advent of superfast broadband may have some unwanted outcomes.
The comparison site found one in five internet users (18 per cent) admit
to already downloading illegally and over a third (35 per cent) think access to
superfast broadband will encourage illegal downloading or make it easier to do.
The most popular things to download illegally are:
- Music – 74 per cent
- Films - 41 per cent
- Software - 25 per cent
- TV programmes - 23 per cent
- Games - 16 per cent
Mike Wilson, manager of broadband at moneysupermarket.com said: “Illegal downloading is already a big problem for the likes of the music and film industries and with superfast broadband packages set to become commonplace, the problem seems likely to get worse.
“It has been very difficult to police illegal downloading, but the Digital Economy Act has just allowed ISPs to suspend the services of alleged illegal file sharers. For many people, broadband is as essential a service as electricity and gas, and those who suffer Wi-Fi hijacking or share a connection with multiple users should not be penalised for the actions of others.”
Other research by moneysupermarket.com found over four million people had committed broadband piracy and people are failing to protect themselves, with one in five (19 per cent) wireless users not password protecting their internet at home or admitting they don’t know if they have password protection in place.
Mike Wilson continued: “A significant amount of people admit to Wi-Fi hijacking and with the potential to suffer recourse from your ISP for illegal downloading, it is imperative that people take appropriate measures to protect their wireless connections.”
The tech savvy younger generations are the worst offenders when it comes to pirate downloads with 32 per cent of 18-34 years olds admitting to the activity. Men are also more prolific with 24 per cent admitting to downloading illegally compared to 12 per cent of women.
Mike Wilson concluded: “The number of people looking for unlimited and fast broadband packages is rising which is an indicator that downloading and streaming are becoming a big part of online behaviour, but perhaps the advent of free sites like BBC iPlayer and Spotify will convince some illegal downloaders to change their ways.”
The research was carried out on online by Opinium Research amongst a nationally representative sample of 1,991 British adults between 2 – 5 February 2010.
Opinium Research conducted an online poll of 2,010 British adults from 9th -12th October 2009. Results have been weighted to nationally representative criteria In the October Opinium poll, 9% of population (4,348,350) admit to using a wireless network without the owner’s permission in the last 12 months
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