As more and more companies take up the advantages of a fast, always-on connection, it will become increasingly difficult to rely on baseband connections. Broadband allows Web sites to be built with more content-rich features, such as video and sound, as well as allowing access to other services, such as videoconferencing and collaborative working. Over the coming years, software vendors are planning to push an ASP model that will allow companies to access software on the producer's servers and use it as needed, rather than buying traditional software packages. This will allow companies to access the latest software at a reduced cost and will hopefully limit software piracy. However, there are still formidable problems to be overcome before broadband access can become truly widespread.
Location is likely to be the biggest problem in the short term.
Only 26 per cent of the population currently has access to DSL services and that figure won't reach 80 per cent until at least the end of 2002. Cable access is limited by the logistics of installing the network and the costs of leased line access increases rapidly for those outside cities. The only true location-independent broadband service is satellite, which has severe upload limitations. The second major concern over broadband lies with the telecommunications industry itself and the speed at which BT will allow other companies access to its precious exchanges. At the time of going to press, several ISPs, including AOL, are considering legal action against BT to force the company to voluntarily break up its monopoly on local loop services.