According to a special Eurobarometer report, a survey of 25,000 households finds that the number of broadband lines has quadrupled in the past three years; 27% of households with internet have a wi-fi router.
Such new wireless technologies are growing because they represent a cheaper solution for more isolated regions, as they’re able to deliver broadband to areas with no fixed-line network, as well as support mobile computing devices, such as laptops, VoIP phone access and gaming.
Broadband technology allows users to access the internet at high speeds, mainly over their telephone lines or via cable modem. Using cable, bandwidth is shared between users and neighbours, and speed will vary according to how many people are on the cable modem network.
Finding the best broadband providers
The UK Broadband Internet Guide provides a list of the top broadband providers, rated by readers, with Broadband speeds, download limits, contract period, broadband ratings and price comparisons. There are a plethora of other sites that provide this information, such as 'UK Offer' and 'Compare Boradband'.
All these sites have the top UK broadband service providers such as BT, NTL, Pipex, Talk Talk, AOL, Tiscali, Eclipse Internet and many others. Each provider usually has different packages for light, medium and heavy users, depending on frequency of usage and download capacities. Some packages throw in free modems, e-mail addresses and anti-virus and spam protection.
It can also work the other way round, with some mobile phone packages offering free broadband with their contracts, which may lead to increased usage of mobile hardware, such as laptops and next generation mobile technology. It’s worth researching before buying the package that suits, and reviewing regularly as needs change, as with any contract.
Streaming favourite programmes over the web
Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) is increasingly becoming common, with more TV delivered through broadband to set top boxes. TV programmes will increasingly have downloadable programmes and viewers will be in charge of what they watch and when. This technology is becoming more popular as UK broadband providers drop prices for faster connection speeds.
TV will not only become more interactive, but viewers can be given a choice of what they want to watch or focus their attention on. For example, if someone sees a pair of sunglasses on a TV programme, they could be bought online while still watching the programme. This makes advertising integrate with programming, which of course has its downsides, but this is where technology may take us in the future.
Broadband will increasingly challenge the ‘old media’ world as distribution channels and customer demands increase through cheaper and more available broadband connectivity.
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