Open saucers wave handbags at BBC

THE OPEN SOURCE CONSORTIUM has written to Ofcom, the Office of Fair Trading and the BBC, complaining that the Beeb's provision of a Microsoft-based video on demand player is unfair.

The OSC is asking for 'a re-examination of the effects' of the BBC's iPlayer using Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 technology and is calling for alternatives to be offered, adding that if the BBC can only afford to use one technology then it should choose one that is available for all operating system platforms, including OS X, Linux and Solaris.

"This action from the BBC effectively promotes one operating system vendor at the expense of others," says OSC Chief Executive Iain Roberts. "It is very disturbing that the BBC should be using licence payers' money to affect the operating system market in this way. Imagine if the BBC were to launch new digitial (sic) channels, but only make them available on a certain make of television - there would be uproar."

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has imposed a two year limit by which time the BBC's service must be made available on other media players such as RealPlayer. The OSC accuses Ofcom of not having gone far enough in its ruling and complains that Microsoft is being given an unfair advantage "at a time when it will be seeking maximum opportunity to promote its new operating system Microsoft Vista" and is demanding that the BBC should only launch iPlayer in a 'technology neutral capacity'.

Perhaps the open saucers are forgetting that the BBC is a public service broadcaster whose duty is to supply as many people as possible with a service within a very tight budget. By using WMP as the basis of the iPlayer, the Beeb will reach 90 per cent of the population with a single player. It is unlikely that the lack of an iPlayer service for the UK's 15 Solaris users played much of a part in this particular business decision. µ

L'Inq
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