The only broadband provider in Hull, Karoo broadband, has changed it’s policy on suspected copyright violations using it’s service.
It emerged that users who were suspected of copyright violation on their network were having their broadband service disconnected without any warning and then been made to sign a form promising not to repeat the offence without the chance to appeal or put their own view or facts across before they would be reconnected.
The biggest problem for residents of Hull is that they have no other choice of broadband provider to choose from unless they get mobile broadband as BT has no telephone lines installed in Hull. Kingston Communications are the telephone line supplier and also owner of Karoo broadband and hence have a bit of a monopoly in Hull.
There is a “Three Strikes” policy that is being adopted by most broadband providers and Karoo have now changed their own policy to mirror this since the whole news even got attention from the Open Right Group (view here).
They said that customers would from now receive three warning letters before they had their service disconnected.