Gartner predicts new digital divide High-speed broadband to create communities of haves and have nots
Ian Williams V3.co.uk, 09 Sep 2009 - Growth in localised, high-speed residential broadband services is beginning to open a new chasm between urban and rural areas in terms of internet access, according to new findings from Gartner. The analyst firm's Emerging Technology Analysis: Ultra-High-Speed Residential Broadband Internet, Global Consumer Services report predicts that a new digital divide will have emerged within three to five years between those able to access residential broadband speeds of 50Mbit/s or higher and those limited to basic access speeds. AdvertisementThis is despite efforts such as the UK government's Digital Britain project, which aims to provide a basic broadband service to everyone who wants it. "Ultra broadband will exacerbate the digital divide among different world regions, as well as within countries," said Fernando Elizalde, principal research analyst at Gartner. "Governments in countries that lag behind in the deployment of ultra broadband will come under increasing pressure to use public funds to upgrade broadband infrastructure to avoid falling behind." Elizalde explained that the need to acquire new customers and retain existing ones will see providers using headline speeds to help differentiate their services from the competition. From a consumer perspective the growing use of high bandwidth applications such as downloading or live streaming of movies and television, as well as the distribution of user-generated content through email, social networking sites and video-sharing sites, will be a key driver, according to the report. The demand for high-speed broadband is not limited to the entertainment sector, however. The report noted that e-government initiatives such as telemedicine and teaching, and business cases such as hosted services and telepresence, will all involve high levels of bandwidth use. Elizalde also highlighted several barriers that may hinder adoption. From a financial standpoint, many people may shun super-fast connections if they are too expensive and fail to offer sufficient value. The huge infrastructure investment required to roll out this level of service to the majority of the population, meanwhile, poses a financial and logistical challenge as it will often require large amounts of rewiring right up to the building. This is particularly daunting given the steady development of alternative mobile broadband technologies, such as Long Term Evolution. "Despite these challenges, ultra broadband will happen and application developers should use the opportunity offered by the early adopter markets of Japan and South Korea to carry out live testing of new applications and innovations before it becomes mainstream globally," concluded Elizalde. "Operators must position faster broadband speeds as a premium service to avoid commoditisation of ultra broadband, and strike a balance between their need to charge more for faster broadband and consumer willingness to pay for the extra speed." Redline Communications Inc. Kevin Suitor Vice President, Corporate Marketing 302 Town Centre Blvd. Markham, ON L3R 0E8 CANADA o: +1 905.948.2299 f: +1 647.723.0451 m: +1 416.508.1252 Skype: ksuitor e-mail: ksui...@redlinecommunications.com Web: www.redlinecommunications.com Advancing Broadband Wireless - Putting WiMAX in Motion Think green before printing this email IMPORTANT NOTICE: This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify Redline immediately by email at postmas...@redlinecommunications.com. Thank you. iBUb3duIENlbnRyZSBCbHZkLiBNYXJraGFtLCBPTiBM M1IgMEU4IENBTkFEQQ0KbzogKzEgOTA1Ljk0OC4yMjk5ICAgICBmOiArMSA2NDcuNzIzLjA0NTEg ICAgIG06ICsxIDQxNi41MDguMTI1MgkNClNreXBlOsKgwqAga3N1aXRvcg0KZS1tYWlsOsKgwqAg a3N1aXRvckByZWRsaW5lY29tbXVuaWNhdGlvbnMuY29tDQpXZWI6ICAgICB3d3cucmVkbGluZWNv bW11bmljYXRpb25zLmNvbQ0KDQpBZHZhbmNpbmcgQnJvYWRiYW5kIFdpcmVsZXNzIC0gUHV0dGlu ZyBXaU1BWCBpbiBNb3Rpb24NCu+BkMKgIFRoaW5rIGdyZWVuIGJlZm9yZSBwcmludGluZyB0aGlz IGVtYWlsDQoNCg= -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
