DANGER: Many home internet connections won't cope in the future [GETTY] And it’s possible the UK’s average 14 Mbps broadband speed simply won’t be able to cope with modern demands.
Online movie service Netflix has already begun streaming content in ultra high definition 4K and the BBC, along with other broadcasters, is likely to follow soon.
Incredibly, on demand TV now accounts for one fifth of British viewing figures.
As well as TV and music, online gaming is becoming more popular with both PlayStation and Xbox now allowing games to be downloaded.
But with many titles in excess of 50GB, these downloads can take a mind-numbing 8 hours with a standard 14Mbps connection, and files are set to get even bigger.
CONNECTED: Google's new Nest thermostat is just one modern device that needs an internet connection [GOOGLE] Internet entrepreneur, Boris Ivanovic, believes that the UK needs to invest heavily in broadband to keep up with the increasing demands.
His company, Hyperoptic, is one of the only UK providers to offer 1Gb speeds to its customers, and feels other providers need to do the same.
Speaking to the Daily Star Online, Mr Ivanovic said: "Technology is evolving all the time and is driving our economy.
"When we launched in 2005 people questioned why you needed 24Mbps, now that speed is the norm.
"Giving people gigabit speeds via fibre-to-the-home future-proofs businesses and consumers for the new wave of products and services that will continue to transform our lives."
And Mr Ivanovic even believes the government should scrap the HS2 rail link and invest the money giving more homes super-fast internet.“Fibre broadband would have greater economic benefit than the HS2 rail link ”Boris Ivanovic, Chairman of Hyperoptic
He said: "I am often asked about whether Fibre broadband would have greater economic benefit than HS2.
"The fact is I am a broadband expert, so any answer will always have a level of bias.
"But long term I believe that Fibre broadband would have greater economic benefit – the UK is the most internet-based major economy of the G20, as such it’s likely more businesses will be built upon broadband than on a trainline.
"Furthermore, online communications is growing at a phenomenal rate so it makes economic sense to protect this, rather than invest in a trainline."
LIGHTENING BOLT: Virgin Media offer speeds of 152Mbps to some customers [VIRGIN MEDIA] BT are investing heavily in fibre optic and will be bringing it to more homes across the UK.
And they recently tested a 1.4 terabits per second speed, which can blast 44 HD movies at you in just one second.
Joe Lathan, director of broadband at Virgin Media said: "We’ve already proven our network is capable of delivering speeds of up to 1.5Gb and as the pace of technological change increases, the power of Virgin Media’s network means our customers will be best placed to access more bandwidth hungry entertainment services such as 4K in the future as demand rises."
For now, many of us will continue to endure the dreaded buffering symbol on our devices.
And it's clear that Britain needs to up its game and bring the delights of 1GB broadband to more homes.
No comments:
Post a Comment