—More controversy may be swirling around the BBC’s iPlayer. Today Ofcom questioned whether the cost of offering HDTV programming over the Internet-based TV service could outweigh the public value of offering such services—in addition to the production costs involved in making and formatting the programming for the iPlayer, ISPs have been complaining about how much bandwidth HDTV downloads would eat up if they gained a critical mass. In its market impact assessment published today, the regulator also said that on balance it couldn’t see a negative impact from an HDTV channel available via digital TV.

—Virgin Media (NSDQ: VMED) has extended its trial of a 50Mbps broadband service to the Kent towns of Folkstone and Dover—it had already been offering a pilot in neighboring Ashford. The trial uses the DOCSIS 3.0 standard (which has yet to be finished) and invites existing broadband users to take the service for free until October, whereupon they can upgrade their Internet for 47 pounds ($65), a 30-pound premium on Virgin Media’s regular broadband.  Broadband Reports, writes that DOCSIS 3.0 pilots have grown in popularity as vendors like CableLabs in the U.S. and Cisco (NSDQ: CSCO) push their pre-certified gear on operators.

—The BBC has extended the interactive element of its digital radio service to coverage on the Virgin Media network. (Access via Freeview already offered interactivity.) Listeners to Radio 1 get entertainment news, Radio 5 listeners get sport and general news, and 6 music listeners get playlists and music news. All stations also have links to the BBC’s enhanced channels for special events like Wimbledon and Glastonbury. The BBC says that some 20 million people access digital radio via their television sets. release