Foxtel has vowed to take "reasonable steps" against subscribers who illicitly download movies and TV shows on its network when it starts selling retail broadband services early next year.

The company, which is jointly owned by Telstra and News Corp, made the claim in a submission to the federal government's online copyright infringement discussion paper, published on Monday.

Foxtel says it will take "reasonable steps" against pirates on its future broadband service. Credit:iStock

Foxtel said in December last year it would launch its broadband service in late 2014 as a wholesale customer of Telstra. It has since updated its website to say the service will launch in early 2015.

While Foxtel did not name what steps it would take to stop its future broadband subscribers from pirating, it indicated in its submission that blocking websites hosting pirate material and introducing a "graduated response" scheme would be appropriate for other providers in Australia.