Source: Guardian
Forget the credit crunch, for the broadband crunch is nigh...
Could it be that the YouTubes and iPlayers of this world are slowing the information superhighway to gradual halt - or can an estimated £20bn fibre optic transformation of existing copper wires allow us to continue watching and downloading video at the phenomenonal rate we are today.
The numbers are staggering. Last year it was claimed that YouTube consumed as much bandwidth in a year as the entire internet took up in 2000. Downloading one half hour episode of Gavin and Stacey from iPlayer consumes more bandwidth than receiving 200 emails a day for a whole year. Given that the copper wires currently in use were only built to carry voice calls, you see the problem...
Whilst Japan enjoys the world's fastest internet connection, a fibre optic overhaul of copper here in the UK is likely to cost in excess of £20bn and no promises from service providers as to when households will be 'fibred up'. Virgin Media's broadband cable offerings are leading the pack, whilst BT are using new housing in Kent as a fibre optic test bed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/apr/06/internet.digitalmedia?gusrc=rss&feed=media
