The need for speed

IDEA No63

BROADBAND

In 1999, only one in five UK homes were online. By 2009, the figure was four out of five. That is not surprising. Before broadband the Web did not really work.

It turns out the one thing we dislike more than a slow internet connection is paying for a faster one.

Since the telegraph, copper wires have been used to help us to communicate over long distances. Copper is highly conductive, strong and pliable. Copper wires formed the basis of the first telephone networks and still dominate telecommunications infrastructure to this day.

Digging up the entire telephone network and replacing it with fibre optics is ...

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