Soaring demand for video streaming could hamper Britain’s ambition to go carbon-neutral unless laws governing the internet are radically reformed, BT has warned.
Millions of consumers watching shows on Netflix, Amazon and YouTube are triggering sharp spikes in power demand, the broadband provider said in a filing with the telecoms watchdog Ofcom.
BT, the parent company of Openreach and EE, is calling on Ofcom to change rules that prevent it charging tech titans more for the amount of data they use, claiming that some of the world’s largest and wealthiest companies are responsible for the surge.
It said: “As well as being cost inefficient, this unregulated content distribution is also energy inefficient, something which is surely unsustainable as the UK considers how to address the climate crisis.”
The Government sharpened its climate commitments in April with a pledge to cut emissions by 78pc against 1990 levels by 2035.
BT urged Ofcom to bring in new efficiency rules for digital media providers that generate the highest traffic as part of an investigation by the regulator into public service broadcasting.
It made the remarks as part of Ofcom’s review into public service broadcasting, as TV viewers swap to primarily consuming media online.
One in four viewers have said they may not watch any TV at all in five years.
Ofcom is considering how public service broadcasting requirements, such as news and educational shows, translate to streaming. It is examining whether tech companies could show public service content online.
But telecoms firms have warned that switching to a model where even more media is consumed via internet networks and not over the airwaves would add pressure and costs to their infrastructure.
Internet usage in the UK doubled last year. Network providers have complained they have footed the bill for vast upgrades that benefit content providers.
BT has also been pushing for a shake-up of Britain’s net neutrality rules, governing principles of the internet that mean network providers should treat traffic equally.
Marc Allera, chief executive of mobile network EE, warned in March that Netflix, YouTube and Facebook took up between 60pc and 70pc of its bandwidth at peak times.
He said: “It is clearer than ever that the way our networks are accessed and used is not equal.”
Operators are pushing Ofcom to change Britain’s net neutrality arrangements so they can alter the way firms that eat up the most bandwidth are charged.
Robert Finnegan, the chief executive of Three, lent his support to efforts to reshape net neutrality – a rule which dates from the earliest days of the web and is meant to stop websites being hit with different charges depending on their content.
He said: “I think it is all about fairness. If we are incurring costs and building out networks and billions of pounds of capital expenditure, and you have companies coming over the airwaves and benefiting from that, I am not sure it is sustainable.
“It needs some kind of contribution.”
Technology firms have committed to cutting the carbon footprint of their streaming services. Netflix has claimed it will reduce its net footprint to zero, using carbon offsetting, within two years. Its streaming service currently produces 1.1million tonnes of Co2, equivalent to 150,000 houses.
In March, The Sunday Telegraph revealed that Ofcom would this year look at reworking net neutrality rules. Such a move could spark concerns that this could create a two-track internet.
Amazon declined to comment. Netflix and Google did not respond to requests for comment.
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