Suspending the internet connections of illegal filesharers will present broadband consumers with a £500 million bill, it has been reported.

Internet service providers say they may be forced to raise broadband subscription prices by £25 a year to pay for warning letters to be sent out to suspected offenders, as well as for their service access to be brought to a halt.

Commenting on the reports, Carphone Warehouse's Chief Executive Charles Dunstone said broadband consumers "should not have to bail out the music industry".

He added: "If they really think it's worth spending vast sums of money on these measures then they should be footing the bill; not the consumer."

John Petter, Managing Director of BT Retail's consumer division, also criticised the proposals, unveiled as part of the government's digital economy bill.

He told the Times that the planned legislation had been poorly thought out and was likely to be "ineffective" upon entering the statute books.

Earlier this month, musician Billy Bragg warned that cutting broadband users off for filesharing is unlikely to solve the problems faced by the music industry.