Broadband opens up possibilities and markets

26 April 2006

There is a saying that if you are caught up in a Gold Rush, you want to be the guy selling the shovels.

Time now, perhaps, to get into flogging bandwidth. At least, that’s the inference of new research that reveals there were 46 million broadband subscribers worldwide in 2005 and that future growth looks “extremely bright”.

With the increasing penetration of established broadband access technologies like Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service and cable modem service, in addition to improvements in access technologies like fixed wireless broadband and satellite broadband services, web analysis firm, In-Stat is forecasting the number of worldwide broadband subscribers to double over the next five years. By year-end 2010, they are projecting worldwide broadband subscribers to reach 413 million.

Whichever way you look at, that’s a mind-boggingly large marketplace. And even capturing a fraction of a percentage point would keep the majority of small to micro-sized businesses ticking over nicely, thank you.

Study after study has shown that broadband penetration is driving the online shopping boom. So what we ought to be doing to take full advantage?

Over the next few weeks, we will examine how to give our web site presence the best possible chance of success in a crowded marketplace.