While downloading music and video is a must for consumers, the 65 percent of businesses currently using broadband connections have different priorities. Recent research conducted by Shopcreator and BT Global Services identified four areas where broadband has most impact on businesses: e-trading, backup and security, collaborative working and expenditure reduction. "Everyone is familiar with the benefits of broadband for personal use, whether it's faster music downloads or faster email, but that doesn't necessarily translate to business environment," says Shopcreator's Kitchener. "For businesses, the real benefit of high-speed access is the ability to use faster, more reliable connections for things like e-commerce and Web conferencing."
All UK tax services available online
The Inland Revenue believes the growing popularity of broadband has changed the way citizens use its online services. The IR is exploiting the potential of broadband with new services, including online documents such as self-service applications that would be impossibly slow over a dial-up connection.
Eventually, all UK tax services will be available electronically, including secure email, electronic tax returns and refund facilities, says Terry Hawes, head of e-service development at the Inland Revenue. However, the organisation can't afford to fully exploit broadband to offer a richer, more highly designed Web site. "People might be on a high-speed connection, but then again they might be using an old 14Kbps dial-up modem," he says. "As a public sector organisation, we have to accommodate both extremes of the spectrum."
Broadband is a term applied to a range of technologies that make accessing the Internet up to 30 times faster than was possible using a standard dial-up connection. To be considered broadband, a connection only needs to deliver data at speeds of 256Kbps or faster. Broadband isn't just changing what we do in offices: consumer adoption of broadband mobile phones and wireless broadband is also increasing dramatically.
One million customers for Real Networks
So how has broadband changed the Internet? For starters, Web sites are launching new information and entertainment services that make the most of high-speed connections. For £5 per month, football fans can watch near-live match highlights via the Sky Sports Broadband service. Previously, they had to make do with online radio broadcasts or TV reports. Around a million people pay a monthly fee to Real Networks in return for access to online video and audio programs, such as CNN news clips and sports reports.
