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  1. Broadband evolution will facilitate business growth

    A broadband expert has revealed that it is likely the next generation of broadband will allow for vast improvements to the infrastructure of UK businesses, with internet solutions replacing current practices to allow for growth and future prosperity.

    However, Roger Darlington of the Communications Consumer Panel told the audience of a seminar on the future of broadband internet that he was unsure how home and business broadband customers would actually drive the uptake of the next-generation technologies.

    Darlington noted that detailed analysis was needed in order to assess just how the networking technologies, which will allow faster connections for a wider spectrum of businesses, will be used once they are established.

    Darlington was speaking at the Westminster eForum last week. The forum brought into question the contentious issues of the government subsidy of high speed broadband networks, asking why so much money was being pumped in when little was known about the actual use of such an infrastructure.

    It was made clear that although development of broadband in the future was necessary, the fact that only three quarters of UK properties were eligible for an internet connection of any kind should be considered to be the most important issue to address with current Government funding.

    More controversy surrounding key broadband providers arose last week after it emerged that the BT chairman had been supplied with a high speed connection in his home village whilst every other resident and local business had been unable to access even the most basic broadband service.

    Despite the fact that new BT business broadband packages offer faster speeds and wider availability, many isolated business owners feel that they are being left behind as most of the new developments first occur in heavily populated areas.

  2. Email to endure as key mode of communication for business broadband users

    Despite the evolution of multiple forms of online communication which improve upon the principally text-based capabilities of emails, a leading business broadband expert has predicted that emails will continue to form the backbone of commerce over the next decade.

    This news comes after a report from broadband provider TalkTalk suggested that email usage was taking a downturn that would eventually relegate it to the annals of history.

    Mickael Remond, CEO of a major messaging solutions firm, cited the universal availability and versatility of email as key to its continued use.

    Remond was adamant that email would continue to be important to business broadband users because of its ability to target multiple recipients and provide a proven logging system to allow easy reference to older messages.

    Although the TalkTalk survey revealed that 51% of low level businesspeople used email as their main form of communication, in ten years time the shape of online interaction would be very different.

    Social networking and instant messaging are slated as being the next big thing in business by the report and so the adoption of BT business broadband packages to reflect this change could result in very different tariffs and functions in the future.

    However, this is obviously a point open to debate and as email is so deeply entrenched in most businesses it could still be used as a formal and lasting form of communication, whilst social networking and instant messaging represents quick, casual and disposable means of conducting a business dialogue.

    Whether future BT business broadband packages will include facilities for business social networks or intercompany instant messaging remains to be seen, but the continued importance of broadband itself within the business world is assured.

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