BT has recently launched a multimillion pound print and television advertising campaign to convince you that 'broadband' internet technology is the solution to all your problems but can it really deliver what it promises? There's little doubt that faster, cheaper internet access can be of immense benefit to the many small businesses in Hastings & St Leonards (in fact, numerous companies have already signed up for grants under the five point plan) but what can broadband do for the home user? Is it just a case of speed and economy or is there more to it than meets the eye?
Future generations will laugh themselves silly at the thought of all the minutes we've wasted trying to connect our computers to the internet. If you sign up for broadband the connection becomes permanent which means that, as soon as you boot up, the internet will be there and ready to use like electricity or tap water.
There's no getting away from it - the first thing any sensible person says when they hear of an incredible new technology that will change their lives is:
"That sounds fantastic. Really it does. How much?"
Most broadband users pay a flat monthly rate for their subscription which removes surprise costs and frees them to spend as much time online as they like. As a result, broadband subscribers use the internet in a different way, skipping from one website to another as they might pages in a magazine.
Websites aren't just about information. They're a whole new medium of communication and there's no limit to the complexity and power of the content they can provide. Without broadband, your experience of the most advanced sites is likely to be -
for 25 minutes after which your patience is rewarded with a frozen screen as your PC and lowly modem struggle to cope with the 'difficult' content.
Broadcasters like ITV and the BBC are already creating programmes specifically for broadband users. One proposal includes a micro version of Eastenders with ten minute episodes that fans can watch between broadcasts of the main show. Whole music videos can be downloaded in seconds while Hollywood movies can be compressed and decompressed in little more than minutes.
It doesn't end there, it merely begins. Broadband throws up a million new creative opportunities for you and your family ranging from video communication with someone halfway around the world to being able to play a game, over the internet, with a friend or a relative in real time.
It provides radical new opportunities for education, bringing learning to life with sounds, images and online tutorials.
There's nothing more frustrating than wanting to make a phone call when your spouse/son/daughter/whatever is surfing away at your expense. Broadband enables you to make and receive normal telephone calls and use the internet at the same time - through the one phone line.
Broadband will be the key to attracting a new breed of business into the area through the upcoming media centre in Robertson Street and a number of other initiatives. It will free the town from the geographic isolation that has been imposed upon it by poor transport links and will unlock the full potential of the internet as it moves closer and closer to the centre of our lives.
We're working hard with BT to make sure that everybody can take advantage of the incredible opportunities that broadband provides.
If your telephone number begins with any of the following... 42; 43; 44; 45; 46; 71; 72; 78; 200; 201; 202; 203; 204; 205 ...then there's a good chance that you can get broadband right now so visit the BT website without delay.
If your number begins with a 75 or an 85, then you need to register your details on the site so that we know how many of you are interested and can do something about it. Visit www.bt.com/broadband.
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This page last updated: 17/10/2002