I wasn't thinking about online gaming, however, while I waited for my wife to finish her downloads. I was thinking about options for increasing my connection's horsepower. ISDN, the high speed alternative to the conventional 56k modem connection, has been a dismal failure in consumer markets as the price, availability, and maintenance issues haven't been attractive to the average Joe. Cable modems, however, use your existing cable wire, and DSL runs over existing POTS copper line. Continuous service and a wide-open pipe will most certainly change the way we use and access services over the internet.
Consumers can continue to use the internet as they do now, from their personal computers.
We'll see definite improvements in this area. My wife will be able to download her content a lot quicker, and I'll get a richer gaming experience. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Start thinking about multifunction set-top devices to control TV, video, audio, and internet access. And thus, multiplayer games.