Virgin have recently revealed cable
broadband with speeds that are 250 times that of the average British household. The average British household normally receives
internet speeds of about 6mpbs where as
Virgin are offering speeds of 1.5gbps.
Ed Vaizey, the
Communications Minister, welcomed Virgin's trial, and declared that, 'the Prime Minister set out our ambition for London's East End to become a world-leading technology city to rival the likes of Silicon Valley. Developments like Virgin Media's will help to make this ambition a reality'
These superfast broadband speeds could lead to almost anything. Yet at the same time something like this is normally coupled with the idea of, 'build it and they will come.'
However, these new speeds really do put the problems of today well behind us. This means in practice if a family with say ten
computers wanted to stream
HD,
3D movies to each device they very well could do.
When it comes to business these new
internet speeds could help new companies grow and attract entrepreneurs into business which in turn would bring new jobs and growth that is very much needed in this economic climate.
These new internet speeds could even revolutionise the NHS. It would enable doctors to see patients remotely in
High-Definition allowing specialists to use services more efficiently, either through eliminating travel costs or my bringing very sophisticated techniques to remote locations.
Yet at the moment it is talk, trying to picture a NHS service is a real challenge and trying to imagine businesses that do not yet exist is even harder. However, it seems that everything is going online so Virgin could not have come at a better time.