Beyond Broadband

The Broadband market has taken off faster than even the most optimistic market guru might have been predicted. At a time when the IT and Communications industries have been imploding due to a collapse of confidence and new investment, Broadband is showing growing like no other sector. Yet the first signs of the end of the boom are already in sight; Germany is the first market in Europe to be showing signs of saturation an Korea and Taiwan grew by just 9.3% and 6% respectively in the first half of 2003 (Point Topic, 2003). So where do we go from here? Most observers agree that the days if the fast Internet proposition are numbered and that the rest of the population, whether business or consumer, needs something more compelling that fast downloads and email.

The central hypothesis is that, in order for the Broadband market to keep developing, and for those in it to make money, there is a requirement not only for a review of the services offered over Broadband, but moreover, a fundamental shift in user behaviour. Although widely misused throughout the nineties, the phrase "paradigm shift" is appropriate. When explosive growth is matched with significant change in behaviour, we see the sort of discontinuity, mor market dislocation, where the rules get re-written.

To continue reading this document, visit the Wired Workplace customer zone, where you will be able to download the whitepaper in full.