Broadband Changes Slower Than You Might Think

from the it's-happening...-just-slowly... dept

Back in the late 90s boom years, a lot of companies bet quite a bit of money on the fact that broadband usage would spread very quickly -- and that would open up all kinds of new services and applications that couldn't really be done over a slow dialup connection. A lot of those offerings are no longer around. Now, however, the broadband usage really is catching on around the world, a new look at broadband users suggests they really haven't jumped on "broadband" applications and services just yet. They are using the internet more often and for longer periods of time. It does seem like a more essential part of their lives -- but that's more for the always-on nature of it, rather than the speed. People are doing things like file sharing and downloading content. A few more people are doing VoIP or video -- but, despite the article's headline suggesting that broadband is somehow "changing our culture," it appears that the really innovative uses of broadband haven't completely caught on yet. This is probably a good thing. It seems like the things that are changing are mostly happening gradually, somewhat under the radar, which lets them avoid the hype. There will still be plenty of innovative offerings making use of broadband connections, but they may take some time.

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