Broadband use is spreading throughout the UK and the rest of the world. What started out as faster phone lines, at least, in one direction (ADSL), turned into both directions, for SDSL; then came cable internet, and then wireless. Now satellite broadband access enables people to connect to the internet anywhere that they can see the sky. Connection speeds are increasing and costs are dropping. So what’s next?
The telephone service is even moving to the internet, with Voice Over Internet Protocol, or VoIP replacing or sharing standard landlines. And now even those lines may be replaced with fibre optic lines.
What is fibre optics? The telephone line that comes into your house is made of copper, just as all phone lines have been since the beginning of phone services over a century ago. But scientists have now figured out how to send signals over extremely thin glass cables (fibre optics). These signals aren’t electrical; they’re light, usually either infrared or laser.
Glass cables are cheaper than copper, use less in the way of natural resources, and have less signal degradation over distances than copper. They are of course new, which means that if you want a fibre optic service new cables will need to be installed to your home; this is only done on a town or city basis at the moment. But the technology is lightweight, flexible, and uses much less power than standard copper wire, which means installation is much less expensive.
Several UK broadband providers are beginning the transition to fibre optic broadband, BT among them. Edinburgh and Glasgow will have early installation, and BT plans to have nearly 40% of UK homes accessible to fibre optics by 2012.