Yesterday we noted that UK broadband operator Virgin media has launched 50Mbps DOCSIS 3.0 service, the company telling us they wouldn't be implementing the type of throttling common on their other tiers at launch. The company wouldn't specify that they wouldn't be throttling the tier at a future date, suggesting Virgin's maximizing the good PR of ultra-fast speeds before bringing down the bandwidth buzzkill hammer later -- when the press and public aren't paying as close attention.

Virgin uses an approach that's quite novel to us Yanks (unless you're a U.S. satellite broadband customer): a time-restrictive throttling system that throttles users back for five hours to 50-75% of their subscribed bandwidth should they cross a certain threshold during peak times. For example, a customer on Virgin's 10Mbps/512kbps "L" tier loses 75% of his throughput for five hours should he download more than 1200MB between 4 and 9PM.

Considering that many people aren't even sure what a gigabyte is, that's likely too complicated for many consumers. In an apparent effort at simplification, the Register indicates that Virgin may be scrapping this system entirely, replacing it with one that targets BitTorrent specifically:That's an interesting shift, considering that here in the States, companies like Comcast are migrating away from targeting specific protocols, and are instead focusing on throttling customers based on node congestion and heavy usage. In addition to unveiling plans to target BitTorrent, Virgin CEO Neil Berkett also says the UK carrier will be embracing behavioral advertising from outfits like Phorm.