Virgin Media is trialling a copyright infringement tool that could be built into the technology underpinning its upcoming music download subscription service.

The Detica-supplied system is now being tested by the internet service provider (ISP) in what is claimed to be a UK first.

The software uses high-volume, advanced analytics to sort anonymous ISP traffic data, then aggregates the information into a measure of the total volume of unauthorised file sharing while meeting consumer security design requirements to protect personal data.

According to Virgin, the trial is aimed at understanding how consumer behaviour is changing and will also support upcoming government requirements for measurement of copyright infringement levels on ISPs’ networks.

Virgin Media announced its intentions to launch a music service in the summer. Under the new offering, the firm’s broadband customers can pay a monthly fee to stream and download as many music tracks and albums as they want from Universal Music's catalogue.

At the time, the company said the service would be officially introduced late in 2009, but the proposed timeline may not be met.

“There are positive discussions currently taking place with the labels and we are working very hard to build this new service. The most important thing for us is to offer a compelling service that will make a great difference to consumers, so we will launch it when it is ready,” a Virgin Media spokeswoman told Computing.