News.com reports on US internet service providers (ISPs) considering bandwidth caps to deter file swappers, who hog (they say) all the capacity with their film and music-exchanging ways.

The music and film industry would love to see bandwidth caps, of course, as it would prove something of a barrier to piracy (even if lots of people, who do this kind of stuff at work, or university, wouldn't really be concerned). It might be less of a good idea for the broadband business, the appeal of which is based largely on the fact a meter is not ticking, unlike some forms of dialup access. And it would mean the user, again, ends up paying to see spam and irritating pop-up ads.

Of course, the US internet industry could follow the example of my local broadband provider, NTL, which simply gets so slow in the evenings I stuggle to get my email. Downloading a pirated copy of the latest Harry Potter movie, should I feel so inclined (and should it exist) would require throughput beyond my wildest dreams...