Screengrab, Copyrightinformation.org

TorrentFreak reports that the Copyright Alert System, which some big Internet service providers were planning to implement Wednesday, is on hold. The system has been delayed due to adverse conditions following Superstorm Sandy, which threw a hugely destructive wrench into the works for many utilities and ISPs.

The Center for Copyright Information (CCI) is behind the system. CCI's Executive Director, Jill Lesser, wrote a blog post explaining the delay, which read in part:

Due to unexpected factors largely stemming from Hurricane Sandy which have seriously affected our final testing schedules, CCI anticipates that the participating ISPs will begin sending alerts under the Copyright Alert System in the early part of 2013, rather than by the end of the year.

Our goal has always been to implement the program in a manner that educates consumers about copyright and peer-to-peer networks, encourages the use of legal alternatives, safeguards customer privacy, and provides an easy-to-use independent review program for consumers to challenge alerts they believe they’ve received in error.

Ms. Lesser closed by saying CCI and the ISPs involved wanted to be certain "all of our 'I's are dotted and 'T's crossed" before they began sending messages to customers accusing them of downloading illegal content.

Once it is in place, the Copyright Alert System will be a series of warnings to users suspected of illegal activity that will culminate in either slowed or blocked access if the customer ignores notices from their provider.

So it looks like illegal downloaders have up to six more months to pirate copyrighted data to their hearts' content, and they may have an epic disaster to thank for that.

Screengrab, Copyrightinformation.org

Some of the largest Internet service providers (ISPs) in the country are set to take steps aimed at stopping illegal downloads.

The penalties can result in the repeat offenders losing their Internet access, though providers say it doesn't have to go that far.

Wired names the participants and describes the series of measures, called the Copyright Alert System, that will be used to clamp down on illegal sharers:

The plan, now four years in the making, includes participation by AT&T, Cablevision Systems, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon. After four offenses, the historic plan calls for these residential internet providers to initiate so-called “mitigation measures (.pdf) that might include reducing internet speeds and redirecting a subscriber’s service to an “educational” landing page about infringement.

The huge--and successful--online backlash against SOPA and similar legislative attacks on piracy slowed ISP plans to implement these measures, according to Gigi Sohn.

Ms. Sohn, who heads a digital rights group called Public Knowledge, told Wired that ISPs were afraid that if they were too quick to take their own anti-piracy measures, "...public opinion would be so raw, this would be caught in the whirlwind of bad PR."

Wired goes on to detail how ISPs will deal with infringement. Targets of the following will definitely feel like Big Brother is watching:

On the first offense, internet subscribers will receive an e-mail "alert" from their ISP saying the account "may have been" misused for online content theft. On the second offense, the alert might contain an "educational message" about the legalities of online file sharing.

On the third and fourth infractions, the subscriber will likely receive a pop-up notice "asking the subscriber to acknowledge receipt of the alert."

"Mitigation measures" follow after the fourth warning. While the term has a bitterly dystopian ring to it, on paper it means reduced Internet speed and possible redirection to a page encouraging the user to contact their provider and "discuss" the issue.

Jill Lesser, who directs the group that created these measures, told Wired that the program is intended to be "educational" rather than a form of punishment.

In the end the Internet may be ahead of the ISPs. For three months there has been a standing Reddit thread filled with advice on getting around the Copyright Alert System.

HELP! HELP! THE NATIVES ARE STREAMING!!

American Internet service providers (ISPs) are fond of flashing graphs like the one to the left because they're a great visual aid when you're trying to argue in favor of bandwidth caps.  Look, if you want to stream Netflix from the moment you get off work until you pass out like some gross little bandwidth piggy, you're going to have to pay for it. We can't just keep giving you the internet for free. If we don't charge more, we go out of business and no internet for you! But TechCrunch pointed us towards this post from tech columnist and author Robert X. Cringely giving lie to the notion that without caps ISPs will go out of business.Even Mr. Cringely's mom isn't buying it:

"Most of the press coverage of this issue comes down on the side of consumers but lately the ISP publicity machine has been revved-up and we’re being told that bandwidth caps are necessary, even inevitable. This is, as my 87 year-old Mom would say, BS."

As Mr. Cringely explains, ISPs do something called provisioning, or buying a certain "amount of Internet backbone capacity" per subscriber. For example, if you're buying an 8 megabit-per-second connection from your ISP, they, in turn, provision you with 50 kilobits-per-second of backbone. But, he goes onto to say, "This number is always less than the amount of bandwidth we think we are buying because most of the time Internet connections aren’t used at all and ISPs count on this to keep costs under control." In fact, "This data arbitrage is part of what makes being a broadband ISP so profitable."

ISPs are also keeping mum about the fact that backbone costs have been decreasing for years.  Rising consumption coupled with diminishing prices means, he says, means that "In terms of backbone cost per subscriber, ISP costs have been flat for years." This is partly why ISPs in Tokyo, like Softbank BB, can afford to charge half as much as New York rates for a connection that's four times as fast, but still be profitable.

The kinds of caps American ISPs have been proposing are 2, 4, or 5 gigabytes-per-month for wireless users and 250 gigabytes-per-month for home users. But Mr. Cringely says, "Most U. S. broadband customers don’t get anywhere near that 250 gigabyte cap." So while ISPs are presenting bandwidth caps as a way to stave off imminent losses, with backbone costs still dropping, it may actually be about boosting long-term profits.

The caps are a built-in revenue bump that will kick-in 2-3 years from now, circumventing any existing regulatory structure for setting rates. The regulators just haven’t realized it yet. By the time they do it may be too late. . .

In time we will all bump into these caps and our Internet bills will suddenly double as a result, circumventing competition and ending a 15 year downward broadband price trend.

Better load-up on those back seasons of Mad Men while you can still afford it.