Broadband breathed new life into the Internet, taking the place of Dial-up, which was notoriously slow and unreliable. The first broadband packages were introduced shortly after the millennium and soon after there were numerous companies trying to claim a piece of the market for themselves. As time passed by the broadband providers began to offer packages based on the varying needs of the consumer and they included fast broadband, heavy broadband and broadband bundles.
Fibre optics paved the way for even faster broadband, enabling a connection speed of up to 50Mb. Today, the most common form of broadband is ADSL, which has become available even in remote areas of the country. More recently, broadband has developed further, with the advent of Wi-Fi, which enables the user to connect to the Internet without the need for wires.
Sky broadband was launched in 2006, bringing more choice to the market. It gave its rivals enough competition to make a secure hold on the broadband market and brought with it sports, movies and other entertainment, which became available to download. Broadband suppliers have since pushed the boundaries of price, service and download speeds even further.
Mobile broadband had been in the development stages from as early as 2002, but it is only in the last few years that it has become real competition for home broadband. Companies that have taken on board mobile broadband include O2, T-Mobile Vodafone and 3G.