All-knowing ISPs may start advertising to you based on how you surf

web_image.gifIt would be naïve to think that your Internet Service Provider (ISP) doesn’t hold an incredible amount of information about you. Unless you’re incredibly stealthy / geeky, they have access to every web site you view, every email message you send, every instant messaging conversation you hold… well I could go on, but you get the idea.

Now, a formula: ISP with a lot of personal information about you + ISP wanting to make more money = showing you targeted advertising while you use the Internet.

In reality, some ISPs have probably already been sharing bits of your data with other companies, but now a company called Phorm wants to insert relevant ads as you surf.

UK ISPs send BBC warning about possible bandwidth hogging iPlayer

bbc-iplayer-firstweek.jpgInternet Service Providers in the UK are warning the BBC that the widespread use of its iPlayer service may put too much strain on their networks, and consequently they could place restrictions on their users’ access to it.

Demand for the service certainly seems high, with over 120,000 people signing up to be beta testers in the first week alone.

Yet while it provides great additional exposure for a variety of the BBC’s TV programmes, leading ISPs including BT, Tiscali, and the Carphone Warehouse believe that its soaring popularity will eat heavily into their bandwidth.