On the Net

Citation

Wynder, N. (1999), "On the Net", Internet Research, Vol. 9 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/intr.1999.17209cag.001

On the Net

According to recent views and news on the Web, the diverse growth and development of the Internet may be approaching a fulcrum; as users, technology and usability reach the obstacles of bandwidth limits, and the chemistry between desktop buyers and processor developers meet a content selection of home and office computer users, what direction will the Web take from here?

The Internet, thanks to WebTV and the attraction of cheap personal computers to the home user, has worked its way effectively into the home. Companies are scrambling to move the Web away from a technically challenging procedure into a fun, easy and interesting visit for any user.

The Web is finally surrendering to the masses and becoming user-friendly. Normal, everyday people can use the Internet and with that comes the expectation of something more, something dynamic, and something exciting. After all, how can the Web compete with a multitude of cable, satellite and terrestrial television channels?

These expectations create the need for a more powerful international network: a network that can stand-up to the bandwidth demands of the masses. Imagine...

A world where the standard telephone line is used for voice calls only? A world where renting a 100Mbit communications line from your telco is the same price as renting a normal digital telephone line? A world where it costs the same to stream the hottest cinema release straight to your television as it does to rent a video?

These all seem like dreams, but the expansion of the communications revolution into seamless, mainstream home-based means comms technology must keep up with the consumer's need for high-bandwidth media and on-demand downloading of movies, magazines and entertainment.

Two-way video-phones, video-on-demand and other interactive services are filtering very slowly into the "wired" home, but does communications technology support the increasing use of bandwidth-hungry applications?

Common discussion says a resounding "no", although more and more telcos are taking the high-bandwidth direction. But, at the end of the day, a 56k connection allows the user to view text, images and mid-quality streaming audio and video... how long is that going to be acceptable?

Oh, for the days, the days in the future, where bandwidth is not a concern.

Noel WynderInternet Research & Development Centre nwynder@irdc.com