Lawyers representing some of the biggest music groups on the planet are asking UK broadband providers to hand them the names of individuals suspected of engaging in illegal file sharing.

Be Broadband, BT, Easynet, Entanet, KCOM, Orange, PlusNet, THUS and Tiscali UK have all heard the request for the legal team working on behalf of Digiprotect Gesellschaft Zum Schutze Digitale Medien.

Assessing the ramifications for broadband customers, Tech Watch's David Allen commented: "Anyone suspected of illegal file sharing can expect to be getting a letter anytime soon, yet as these cases have been coming out on a regular basis, the legal process is being looked into and just because they have an IP address does not mean guilt as these can be faked or hijacked."

There are reports that some customers have already been sent letters asking them to pay £500 to avoid being taken to court.