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Taking risks with broadband

Local broadband is lagging the rest of the world by more than most people probably realise. But could this be a blessing?
By Warwick Ashford, ITWeb London correspondent
Johannesburg, 20 Oct 2006

Recent business trips to London have really brought home how much better-off Internet users in the UK really are. Searches are a snap and Web pages are displayed almost instantaneously using broadband services that cost little more than R200 a month.

At more than double the price, local ADSL services are delivered almost intermittently with no guarantee of services. Users in some parts of the East Rand have been struggling for weeks to get continuous connectivity. They say this is adversely affecting business.

Meanwhile, in the UK, the last of the 582 telephone exchanges belonging to British Telecom (BT) in the eastern part of the country were upgraded to provide broadband services. This included 10 exchanges in rural areas.

Public pressure

The upgrading programme was the result of a campaign to deliver broadband connectivity to every home and workplace. Now, 99.7% of region's residents have access to high-speed Internet.

What if similar public pressure were applied to Telkom?

Unhappy that in 2002 only 53% of the population in Eastern England had broadband access, more than 17 000 Britons came out in support of the campaign to demand broadband.

BT plans to roll-out its next-generation broadband (ADSL2) in the middle of 2007 with promises of 18Mbps to 24Mbps for everyone.

Warwick Ashford, portals managing editor, ITWeb

The broadband service is expected to help businesses in eight communities in Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire to compete with companies in larger towns. This is not just about gaming and video-on-demand. This is about business, providing jobs and creating wealth.

Compared with most South Africans, Britons have it really good when it comes to broadband connectivity, with 75% of UK online households expected to be able to connect to the Web using broadband by the end of the year.

Worse than you think

However, a research report released this week reveals that some countries in Europe are far ahead of the UK. Therefore, when compared with countries like France, we are even worse off than many people probably realise.

According to the report, the fastest speed being delivered in the UK is 8Mbps. Although this leaves our local ADSL offerings in the dust, the report says Internet users in France are getting actual speeds of around 24Mbps.

Can you imagine?

Before we get too carried away, however, two research reports published this week have highlighted some of the drawbacks of broadband.

Broadband blues

While broadband is locking users onto the Internet for longer periods, it does not appear to be improving productivity or changing usage patterns. It is also leading to unhealthy psychological dependencies.

PointTopic researchers say although broadband users are spending about six hours more online each week than those still using dial-up, there is yet to be a significant or positive change in what they are doing online.

Surprisingly, increased speed is not pushing users to download more multimedia or make more video calls. According to PointTopic, IP TV and VOIP applications are making an impact on less than 10% of the online community. It says if these applications and Web sites that enable users to contribute content are ever to take off in the UK, users will need faster broadband!

In other words, broadband users are doing more of the same old things. E-mailing, blogging, surfing and shopping are still the top online activities. Users may be doing it all faster, but it is not necessarily making them more productive. In fact, new US research shows quite the opposite.

Internet addiction

Research by Stanford University shows that for many people, broadband has not only become as essential as electricity or water, but many users are developing a strong compulsion to check e-mail, post blogs, and visit Web sites and chat rooms.

The Stanford researchers say the US is filled with Internet addicts who are possibly as clinically ill as alcoholics. A nationwide study shows that more than one in eight adults has difficulty in staying away from the Internet for more than a few days and one in 11 tries to hide this addiction.

The study also found that people in the US are visiting doctors in increasing numbers for help with addictions to online activities. The researchers have expressed concern that Internet addiction could easily lead to significant problems on personal and professional levels.

Instead of boosting productivity, the study associates broadband with increased non-essential computer use, which is estimated at around 30 hours a week for a typical Internet addict.

If broadband leads to Internet addiction, are we really worse off without it? Could it be that by depriving us of broadband, the powers that be are really saving us from ourselves?

Could be, but considering that Web-based research is usually a long and tedious process and that speed is essential to be competitive in business, most South Africans are likely to agree that the benefits are worth taking the risk of Internet addiction.

Same old story

While BT plans to roll-out its next-generation broadband (ADSL2) in the middle of 2007 with promises of 18Mbps to 24Mbps for everyone, and price wars driving ISPs to offer free broadband bundled with telephone services, we are still dreaming about getting a broadband service that is at least half decent and affordable.

What's made free broadband possible?

In the UK, the answer appears to be local loop unbundling, which means BT rivals are now allowed to install their equipment in telephone exchanges. This enables them to offer cheaper and innovative services without relying on BT.

Obviously, the key to enabling SA to play catch-up first to the US, UK and then other countries in Europe is for our government to get real about the country's needs and follow suit in unbundling the local loop. Neotel needs to get into the exchanges before it can make a real difference.

Until then, SA will remain shackled by Telkom. Competition will remain meaningless. Free broadband access will remain a pipedream. Progress will be stifled.

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