Internet access speeds across the globe have been steadily increasing since the introduction of broadband in the year 2000. In the last 10 years we have seen speeds increase from the initial 256Kbps (kilobits per second) up to a worldwide average estimated to be around 1.5Mbps. Some countries can now boast a national average broadband speed of over 50Mbps - that is nearly 200 times faster than when it was first introduced 10 years ago. The future is looking bright for many countries that have the time and resources to improve their current internet infrastructure as current data transfer infrastructure cables are not capable of carrying the speeds that internet service providers will be able to offer in the future. Though it is not an easy process to replace all the currently installed telephone cables with newer technologies such as optical cables that will be able to support hugely increased speeds. One direction that internet broadband access may be utilizing in the future is via overhead or underground electricity cables. Although it is technically possible as broadband data and electricity flow on different frequencies, recent research has shown that when data is transmitted through overhead, under-insulated cables it can interfere with some radio wave bands. However, if a solution is found to this problem that does not require the replacement of electrical power cables, then people in the future may be able to enjoy broadband access speeds of up to 200 Megabits per second just by plugging into an electrical outlet. Along with the possibility of using BPL (Broadband over Power Lines) is the newest incarnation of mobile broadband, WIMAX. WIMAX, also known as 4G, will be a vast improvement on the previous versions of mobile broadband that have been available for some time now. The speeds that WIMAX could offer could possibly make broadband access through cables a thing of the past. How does 70 Megabits per second at a distance of 30 miles from a transmitter sound? Satellite technology is currently being used for many purposes, not least of which is by watching television channels. It is actually possible for broadband internet data to be transmitted and received through current satellite communication systems. Although the costs of the hardware needed to receive the data are quite high (around $3000 fitted), the possible speeds that could be produced are lightning quick even by today’s standards. The maximum advertised speeds is reported to be around 375 Megabytes per second, compared to BPL figures of a possible 25 Megabytes. If and when the cost of initiating a satellite broadband access system is reduced somewhat, the take up would surely be huge. So as you can see, the future is bright for broadband internet access.

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