All these users bemoan the bandwidth crunch brought on by trying to access Web applications over slow dial-up links. In the LAN, campus and branch office, users will come to rely on Web-based applications as the universal online client for shared information access. Despite greater inherent bandwidth in the LAN, a rise in Web traffic because of network computers will pose new traffic challenges, and could impair LAN performance if Web applications are designed to exploit every new and exciting multimedia feature.
Web developers tend to exacerbate the bandwidth crunch.
Web browsers are terminal emulators on steroids. Thanks to high-resolution graphics, sound support, Java and ActiveX, there are endless possible ways to build pages. Each new feature requires more bandwidth to download and support repetitive display elements. Nevertheless, through 2001, the vast majority of users will be connecting at less than 56 Kbps via dial-up land lines and at 14.4 Kbps or less on cellular lines. For the business user, time is money, and delays incurred in accessing the Web are a threat to productivity.