Nielsen's Law is similar to the more established Moore's Law. Unfortunately, comparing the two Laws shows that bandwidth grows slower than computer power. As shown in the table, bandwidth will remain the gating factor in the experienced quality of using the Internet medium. Even after they invest, it takes time to update their sprawling physical plant.
Users are reluctant to spend much money on bandwidth .
The user base is getting broader all the time as mainstream users get online. Of course, there are many technologies to deliver faster bandwidth, and Bell Labs has already demonstrated the ability to shoot a terabit per second down an optical fiber. Unfortunately, these technologies will not deliver huge bandwidth increases to the masses any time soon. ADSL and other technologies will give individual users the speed of a T-1 line and better, but this will not happen in large numbers until approximately 2003. This is the kind of user who may have an ISDN line today.