Broadband is much more than freeing up the landline while you surf the Internet. It's more than not having to hang about while a large file attachment on your email downloads at a snail's pace. Broadband is quite literally a gateway to other worlds of work, entertainment and more.
The Internet is no longer about reading information on your screen and sending and receiving email. Broadband brings your screen to life with moving images and sound. Above all, it allows us to interact, with programs and each other, as never before.
Enhanced interactivity has opened doors to amazing new opportunities. With broadband speed comes the possibility of interacting almost in real time. Its applications are multiple and can be life-changing.
Benefits for individuals
Broadband has revolutionized entertainment. Downloading TV programs to watch at your leisure was a fantasy in the dialup days. Even downloading music was a mission. YouTube is built on broadband's capacity to handle large files. Now even movies an be just a few clicks away.
Not long ago, playing computer games meant a contest between you and the computer. Today, whether your penchant is for Scrabble or poker, Dungeons and Dragons or Playstation games, online gaming made possible by broadband allows you to connect with and compete against users all over the world.
You can share your passion for your favorite game with whole communities of users. The old static games have gone and with your avatar you can immerse yourself in the action. And it's no longer just for kids.
Facebook and MySpace are words on everybody's lips. As well as helping like-minded people to connect, these sites are also used to promote businesses and various causes. Courtesy of broadband, the social fabric seems to be changing faster than ever – mainly for the good Broadband can enables community networking and even participation in democracy.
Rural-dwellers face some of the same access problems as disabled people. Broadband gives new opportunities for community interactions on a small scale and also allows participation on national and even international stages. Fast speeds have allowed the development of user-friendly technology that uses larger files than dialup connections can happily handle. In theory, broadband can network the world.
Benefits for businesses
With broadband working from home is a real option. New ways of working could be a revolution. Broadband opens up jobs that would once have been impossible without moving house. Parents can be virtual P.A.s or set up a home office. No commuting saves time and the environment and, with flexible working, parents can be there when the kids get home from school.
Businesses can save thousands by outsourcing and cutting expenditure on expensive office space. Business networks speed up the supply chain and promise new efficiency and productivity. Everybody wins.
Broadband is not just about doing the old things faster. It's about the new things we can do on the back of broadband technology. It's about being up to speed with the changing world we live in – or should that now be worlds, plural?
See also: Cable versus DSL Internet service