July 17, 2009
Getting Faster Business Broadband
A recent feature on BBC’s Click programme was asking some seriously relevant questions on high speed internet access. The really interesting point the programme was making was the big difference in the actual speed of service in relation to claimed speed of service. Not surprisingly, Asia leads the way in broadband, Korea is world leader for broadband access by a long way – thanks to their largely urbanised population and government-backed broadband policy.
Surprisingly it appears that Britain is well ahead of the United States of America. Britain ranks 14th with 67% home broadband penetration. The USA lags behind in 20th position with 60% penetration.
But exactly how rapid is the actual service delivered by broadband providers in the UK? In our country 2mb is considered rapid. Not so in others with much higher standards and targets. The IT trade association Intellect believes the UK can lean a great deal from the business broadband models currently being pursued with such vigour in Korea and Japan.
But it is business broadband that is driving a whole new ball game in content and applications. Even in not-so-sleepy Britain, t is not just speed that you want – but service. But all the things we take for granted…. Free email, free web space, robust network infrastructure, and free technical support and set up. They all come from speed and reliability with download speeds of 1mbps the least we have come to expect.
In fact, according to the chap on Click, business users now expect a 2mb leased line provider actually delivers that speed to make use of the extra capacity available. Even as I was watching the programme on my computer I was able to check out the service I get – and glory be. It was over 2mb – so I am doing alright.
Where next for business broadband? What might the future hold? More speed and more customers hopefully – which should lead to better value for money. Already we can see prices dropping, which have to be good news as more providers come into the market.
The reality is that so much everyday business can be done on-line – which means less travel, less greenhouse gases and all the other eco-benefits. High speed business internet is fast-driving us to a cleaner world.
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