The deal will result in warning letters being sent to thousands of persistent downloaders to let them know their activities have been detected and are being monitored.
The Internet service providers (ISPs) though have rejected demands from the music industry to cut people's connections if they ignore repeated warnings.
An estimated 6.5 million Britons were involved in illicit music downloads over last 12 months, a trend estimated to cost the music industry up to one billion pounds in the next five years.
The six firms -- BT, Virgin Media, Orange, Tiscali, BSkyB and Carephone Warehouse -- have also agreed to develop legal file sharing services in order to ensure that customers are aware of the repercussions for sharing copy-right protected music.
"This is something of a step into the unknown for the internet providers, music industries and ministers," Feargal Sharkey, chief executive of British Music Rights told the Times.
"But we can't go on without it - no business can survive after losing as much revenue as the music industry has," he added.
Details of possible sanctions to be imposed on compulsive illegal downloaders are not yet available.
Some experts called for web firms to impose annual fees to cover the cost of downloading or reduce the broadband speeds of individuals to stop them from sharing files.
© 2008 AFP
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