The culture secretary Jeremy Hunt has indicated that the current exemption from the £145 TV license fee enjoyed by online viewers could end next year.
Viewers who do not own a TV but watch programmes via online services such as the iPlayer are among those being targeted under plans to introduce the internet TV license fee.
The proposals come in the wake of a major change in TV viewing habits which are seeing more and more people using online services. A recent review by the BBC's governing body revealed that around 40% of students in halls of residence watched TV via a laptop.
It is not clear at the moment what form a TV licence fee applied to cover online viewing would take. Erik Huggers, the BBC's technology chief was keen to stress however that the proposals would not amount to an automatic charge for PC owners.
Huggers said recently: "The way we collect it (the licence fee) may have to be rethought because technology is changing" adding "We are not going to introduce a PC licence".
The BBC would not be drawn over speculation that the licence fee would increase, although this would be one way of covering the extended reach, via the internet, the corporation is now enjoying.
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