It appears that the average UK broadband customer is now far more in tune with the technology that powers their internet connection and many are able to recite on demand the download speed they can achieve in their own homes.

As a result, experts believe that more people are also cottoning on to the benefits offered by super fast broadband connections.

Edd Dawson, who edits a leading UK broadband website, has spoken out about the increasing number of people taking broadband speed tests to assess the speed of their current connections. He believes that many more people are seeking deals based on the download speed alone.

Mr Dawson also revealed that broadband customers are extremely receptive to new information that can help them to speed up their current connection. With cheap cable broadband coming from BT and the competition that this will bring to the market, high speed connections are likely to become an even hotter topic in the future.

Mr Dawson said that the largest factor influencing the increased interest in faster download speeds was the growing availability of quality media content online. With the BBC’s iPlayer and other video streaming services including YouTube now offering broadcasts in high definition, a faster connection is becoming ever more desirable. Video chatting and VoIP voice calls also require a higher connection speed and houses with multiple users going online can ensure optimal performance by comparing providers based upon their download speeds.

With common ADSL broadband connections still languishing with average connection speeds of 4Mbps or lower, cheap cable broadband offering faster connections on a more consistent basis is becoming more attractive.

Mr Dawson has added his opinions to the discussion generated by BT’s announcement of its own 40Mbps fibre optic cable connections, which will be going live in the near future.

It looks as though the roll out of fibre optic broadband will be hastened if regional businesses are able to unite and commit to support, after the heads of businesses in Dorset announced that they would be backing plans within their area.

A local Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism which encompasses leaders from around Weymouth and Portland has revealed that it will be firmly in favour of speeding along the proposed installation of fibre optic cable broadband, which had been intended to coincide with the London Olympics in 2012.

This new deal will of course allow the fibre optic network to be retained after the Olympics has come and gone and businesses will supply the custom necessary to ensure its continued financial viability.

A local newspaper said that there was still time for businesses and home owners to pledge their support for the plans via a survey, which will be open until the end of the month.

Nigel Reed, who presides over the Chamber of Commerce, said in an interview that the most significant goal they are aiming to achieve is the retention of fibre optic technology that will link local telephone exchanges. However, any lack of demand could mean that telecoms companies would be hesitant about offering high speed broadband after the Olympics conclude in 2012.

Mr Reed also confirmed that he and his fellow businesspeople would be backing the plans in their area, seeing it as one of the key benefits of hosting the Olympic games.

Simple Broadband’s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard added that “businesses can really benefit from fibre optic broadband connections with BT business broadband packages and those of other providers expected to be vastly improved in the wake of the fibre optic broadband roll out.”

BT has recently announced some fairly significant developments which will please shareholders in the firm as well as business and home broadband customers around the country.

The first piece of news highlights the fact that BT has just passed the five million customer mark for its broadband service. It sent the lucky 5 millionth customer, a chip shop worker from Glasgow, to see the Winter Olympics to mark the milestone which assures BT’s place as the UK largest fixed line broadband provider.

The second exciting development came when BT announced that it was currently ahead of schedule for the roll out of the latest fibre optic broadband technology. The intention now is to make fibre optic broadband available to 10 million customers around the UK in time for the 2012 Olympics and so far the £1.5 billion project is moving along swiftly.

In the last two years BT revealed that it has gained the custom of over one million new business and home broadband users and a spokesperson for the company said that the growth in the number of business customers signing up for broadband was set to continue as higher speeds become available across a wider area.

BT said that with the current work rate it would be able to connect 4 million customers to the internet using the new fibre optic network by the end of 2010 and the pressures of being official communications partner and sponsor of the 2012 Olympics are clearly helping BT to stay on task and stick to its promises.

BT CEO Ian Livingstone said that they expected to gain support from the government in order to ensure that businesses could have access to high speed broadband connections in time for 2012.

It is clear that by the end of next year people looking to compare business broadband packages will be faced with a much wider selection of high speed connections than those that are currently available.

A report from Cisco has said that broadband quality and reach in the UK ranks just 25^th in a worldwide league table.

This may sound like bad news, especially when considering some of the less developed countered higher up the table. However, Cisco has made it clear that the UK?s broadband network is adequate for today?s requirements but, more importantly, that its position is likely to improve.

Broadly speaking we agree with this assessment. The increase in fibre networks and the Digital Britain project will vastly improve provision of broadband in the UK such that it will be able to keep pace with the ever increasing requirements of the broadband users in the UK.