[Deckard]

True. People's bandwidth requirements vary hugely, and from a purely resource-based perspective, charging according to usage amount seems fair enough to me, irrespective of any assumptions about what the bandwidth is used for.

While it's a good bet that most are indeed currently illegal file sharers, it would be hugely unfair to assume that, say, 94 per cent =100 per cent, and have 6 per cent of users being unfairly charged (Figures courtesy of my ass!) without some more accurate way to identify illegal downloading.

With the increasing use of BBC iPlayer HD and other services, it'll become harder and harder to make that assumption anyway.