According to TalkTalk, the UK's second biggest broadband provider, the majority of broadband customers who are music fans will switch to alternative ways of accessing copyright-protected content for free if using peer-to-peer services leaves them vulnerable to disconnection, rendering futile the Government's attempts to stop copyright infringement.
TalkTalk Broadband commissioned research which shows that the Digital Economy Bill may not achieve its aims of reducing illegal filesharing among broadband users and protecting the revenues of the content industry.
80% of 18-34 year olds - the key age group for music companies - said that if new legislation made it dangerous to use P2P services via their broadband connection, they would switch to using methods which are undetectable.
According to TalkTalk, there is a large and growing array of non P2P tools available to broadband customers, including applications which scan thousands of internet radio stations and download the desired tracks in a wholly undetectable way.
There are also services which effectively conceal broadband users' IP addresses, allowing them to download material without detection.
Andrew Heaney, TalkTalk's director of strategy and regulation said. "It doesn't matter how many sites are blocked, how many families are snooped on or how many customers are disconnected, music fans who want to can and will get the content they want online for free.
