| Following the last edition of Plus you gave us feedback that you’d like to know more about what this year holds for broadband in the UK. So here goes.
High speed broadband will improve your Internet experience
Higher speeds nationwide will mean that customers can download more music, software and video. Web surfing and gaming won’t be noticeably faster with up to 8Mb as there is plenty of capacity for these applications on a 2Mb line already.
Content Downloads
The biggest change we expect to occur this year is the proliferation of legal content downloading services that offer video, films and music on demand. Sky by Broadband reached 30,000 downloads in its first few months. The BBC are about to launch a similar service to allow customers to view the BBC TV archive online.
All of these services are designed for high quality content to be downloaded and viewed later – not ‘streamed’ for immediate viewing. That’s principally because even 8Mb lines and the current UK infrastructure are not fast enough to support true high-definition TV quality ‘streaming’ in real time. A secondary issue is that the current wholesale costs of broadband mean it’s not possible to support huge increases in bandwidth at peak times at the current retail prices.
More and more people will be linking their homes with WiFi and watching DVD quality material on TVs that has been downloaded, rather than bought from a store. New games consoles including PlayStation 3 and handheld devices for watching video and playing games will drive more and more downloads.
Download Today To Enjoy Tomorrow
So this year more customers will start to use applications that utilise quiet times on the network (e.g. overnight or while you are out at work) to download music and video, ready for consumption later. Taking this approach will enable the majority of interactive usage such as gaming, VoIP calls and web surfing to continue to be utilised during peak times (4pm - midnight).
Broadband, Wireless And Mobile Come Together
During 2005 using the Internet to make cheap and free phone calls really took off. This year making VoIP calls will become even easier, and customers will be taking advantage of bundles of line rental, broadband and voice calls for a single low monthly price. But it will go further than that – the broadband, wireless and mobile worlds will converge giving you the chance to consume what you want, where you want on whatever device you want without needing an engineering degree!
In the converged world of the future we see customers choosing and configuring their own services online. We see customers tailoring their services and devices to suit their personal needs. We see seamless roaming between fixed, wireless and mobile for education, information, communication, work and entertainment wherever you are. It won’t be a simple journey but it will be fun and we want to help you get the most out of the ride. We’re ready for the future, are you? Why not visit our forums to discuss this and anything else about the world of broadband that’s on your mind?
Related Links
PlusNet's Updated Vision for 2006 - read our Vision, published in January 2006, that shows how we're working to make PlusNet the most recommended ISP in the UK.
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