In an effort to target illegal downloader’s, six of the UK’s biggest internet service providers (ISPs) have agreed a plan with the music industry. The deal was negotiated by the government, and will see hundreds of thousands of letters sent to users who as under suspicion of net piracy.

The music industry have said they want people’s internet cut-off if they ignore repeated warnings, something ISPs say they are not prepared to do. The six providers are; BT, Virgin, Orange, Tiscali, BSkyB and Carphone Warehouse.

Feargal Sharkey, chief executive of British Music Rights, said the plan was “a first step, and a very big step, in what we all acknowledge is going to be quite a long process”.

The plan commits the firms to working towards a “significant reduction” in the illegal downloading of music. The deal also commits firms to develop legal music services.

The BPI, which represents the music industry in the UK, has focused on educational efforts and limited legal action in recent years. This is in stark contrast to the US which has embarked on tens of thousands of lawsuits against alleged file sharers.

The six ISPs have reportedly signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which was drawn up by the Department of Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR). The firms have all agreed to ensure their customers know it is illegal to share copyrighted music, and all firms have to agree to go further in their attempts to tackle illegal file-sharing.

Over the last few weeks Virgin and BT have sent letters to some customers identified by the BPI, as persistent music pirates. The BPI had called for a “three-strike” system which would see net connections of persistent pirate’s cut-off if these warnings went ignored. However, net firms said to BPI that it is not their job to act as policemen.