Steve Hooker: Broadband Britain

Korea plans ultra fast broadband

Fri, 21 Nov 2003 09:15:43 GMT

"South Korea is embarking on a huge project to make its national broadband network even faster spending £1.06bn to upgrade their network."

Very aggressive, apparently they forced schools to use the net more.

Competitive broadband could add £22bn to UK economy

Wed, 19 Nov 2003 11:41:19 GMT

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) found that UK productivity could rise by 2.5 per cent by 2015 - the equivalent of workers toiling for an extra hour each week.

Not only would people benefit, CEBR reckons that government borrowing would be down by £13 billion by 2015 through lower public sector spending and extra tax revenues from a faster growing economy.

The magic bullet? Bollocks! Broadband is simply the means to the end. It's how people use broadband that really counts. Whether they use the internet or let it lie, getting dusty in the corner. Sure it's more fun, fast.

And looking a dozen years into the future, it'll be the way people share, communicate and mingle, that really counts, not forgetting by then, we'll all be on broadband on our phones too.

[Later:] I take it back. Looking at the speeds they're offering in Japan now 26Mbps and only at £20 a month. This really makes my proud 2Mbps pipe look anemic.

If we were all on that type of speed here in the UK, then surely we would be hitting those targets mentioned above. Think of those video conf calls. Web sevices, like I can only dream of. Many, many more web shoppers... Like it says on the BBC article, "a utility like gas or water that is simply there." And, "it seems clear that speed - or the lack of it - as a restraining factor is but a dim memory, and rather it is what you can do that matters."

Bring it on!

Forrester names Europe's lower tier broadband nations

Sun, 20 Jul 2003 11:49:26 GMT

"in 2008: Scandinavia and the Netherlands will dominate the ratings (40%+); German-speaking Europe, Belgium, Finland, and the UK will form a second tier (30-25%); and Southern Europe and Ireland will continue to lag. "

South Korea: " The Korean government plans to spend over US$10bn to deliver VDSL or fibre to over 80% of the Korean population by the end of 2005"

VDSL goes up to 54Mbps. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Cable broadband hits one million

Mon, 05 May 2003 09:38:16 GMT

"This puts the technology slightly ahead of ADSL"

America's Broadband Dream Is Alive in Korea

Mon, 05 May 2003 00:26:10 GMT

Spending on broadband and other high-technology gear helped lead a transformation of the economy, pushing the overall information technology sector to about 13 percent of economic activity and making South Korea much less dependent on heavy industry. Once a novelty, home shopping now makes up 8.7 percent of all retail sales, a rate that is expected nearly to double by 2005. In 2001, SBSi, the interactive division of the Seoul Broadcasting System, started charging 500 South Korean won (about 40 cents) a show to watch soap operas and other streaming video programs. The service has attracted 1.8 million registered users; 4,000 more sign up every day. 57% Korea, 50% Canada, 22% US and we're right down the bottom with UK 11% BBi into homes. Plus, their average connection is 2meg and the pro's 32meg. The digital nirvana we're all thinking about is some way off.

Pocket tracker monitors children

Tue, 15 Apr 2003 11:56:28 GMT

"Worried parents will soon be able to keep an eye on their children at all times via a wearable tracking device and a website that maps where they go."

Using radio instead of GPS. I wonder why they didn't use mobile phone positioning? All three would be best of course, but more expensive. And this seems to only work in London. Pity, it's those out in the countryside that need most such protection, at least to my recollection of past abductions, they all seemed to happen in quiet country villages.

BT to reveal price cuts this week

Wed, 02 Apr 2003 11:23:55 GMT

"BT is expected to reveal details of its much-hinted-at broadband "price cuts" later this week."

Sounds good! What is ADSL BBi now? I think it's £27.99 a month. Telewest's is £25.00. If BT drop to under £20 then some that offer BT ADSL under their own badge at £20 will drop too.

Guardian: Compulsory broadband access mooted for new homes

Mon, 24 Mar 2003 17:24:06 GMT

"All new homes will be fitted with the infrastructure for broadband access, under a government proposal aimed at boosting the public's use of the internet."

Cable internet? All they're talking about is an empty pipe from the house to the pavement. And if the area isn't cabled, it won't make much difference. Such regulation has been in the US and Korea for years.

BBC: Broadband goes electric

Fri, 14 Feb 2003 01:34:53 GMT

"The company has already run technical trials of the technology in the small Scottish towns of Campbeltown and Crief. The trials were a big success, offering up to 2MB per second - much faster than most broadband services on offer in the UK - for the price of £25." Cool. Soon (read 5 years?) BBi in remote corners of the UK

Wed, 15 Jan 2003 22:33:15 GMT

Hidden ad-skipping feature found in TiVo. "A specific pattern of keystrokes on a remote control for TiVo digital video recorders enables subscribers to activate a feature making it easier to skip through ads".