The BBC's director of future media and technology, Ashley Highfield, has insisted the corporation has a good relationship with the UK's internet service providers as the row about the costs of delivering the iPlayer's broadband video content escalates.

Highfield told MediaGuardian.co.uk that the BBC had been discussing issues relating to the distribution of data-heavy video services with ISPs for years and that the rising costs of delivering rich content to consumers could not be blamed solely on the iPlayer.

"This is a structural shift in the internet and the next generation of content that is evolving," he said.

"We are one player and it is heartening to have others like MSN and Channel 4 say that we are helping to grow the market. But that has to be developed in collaboration with the ISPs so that it is a win-win situation," Highfield added.

UK ISPs have reported a significant increase in the volume of traffic on their networks since the relaunch of the iPlayer at Christmas, which means they have to buy more wholesale data capacity from BT.

Highfield last week published a 19-point charter on the BBC's internet blog addressing this issue. His proposals included asking ISPs to be clearer about their definition of "unlimited broadband" and a suggestion that content firms should publicly list the ISPs that deliver their content most effectively.

Speaking on the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme today, Tiscali's head of strategy, Simon Gunter, said the BBC should be helping with the rising costs of delivering broadband video via the iPlayer rather than telling ISPs how to run their businesses.

"The question is about whether we invest in extra capacity or go to the consumer and ask them to pay a BBC tax," Gunter added.

"Inflammatory comments about blacklisting ISPs do not help. There seems to be a lack of understanding about how networks are built. Either we are not explaining it properly or it is falling on deaf ears," he said.

Highfield said the popularity of the iPlayer - which was today revealed to have fielded 17.2m requests for downloads and streamed content during March - has been helpful during negotiations with ISPs.

"We have a very good relationship with all the ISPs. I don't see the correlation between the growth of their wholesale costs and the BBC's iPlayer service," he added.

"We have seen a 3-5% increase in UK internet traffic from the iPlayer and we are working with all the ISPs to enable discussions about how we handle this increase," Highfield said.

He added that discussions had included looking at bookmarking, where users could order programmes from iPlayer in advance that would download at off-peak times, and other strategies to help lighten the network load for ISPs.

The iPlayer has seen 25% month-on-month growth in the number of shows requested since its Christmas launch - and the BBC has just announced a deal with Nintendo to make the service available through its Wii games console.

"Getting the service so it can be used by everyone is a key objective," said Highfield. "We want to try to narrow the digital divide and get everyone in Britain on broadband. There are a lot of people who would never have dreamt of watching TV on a computer who are now doing so."

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