If we took the do we need it now - then we would still have a hand delivered message service and no telegraph or telephone system.

why so ? Someone needed a phone - example a cabinet minister in his rural home - which is why it took off. They didn't put them in homes and see if people used them, it was the private sector after all.

At the time, Mr. William Preece (later Sir William Preece) of the Post Office Engineering staff, when asked whether the telephone would be an instrument of the future which would be largely taken up by the public, replied �I think not�. Questioned further he said �I fancy the descriptions we get of its use in America are a little exaggerated; but there are conditions in America which necessitate the use of instruments of this kind more than here. Here we have a superabundance of messengers, errand boys, and things of that kind.�

http://www.britishtelephones.com/histuk.htm

We might not need the speed all the time, but we'll need it in bursting chunks so that when we need the data it will come down in a timely manor and in good quality. With the average broadband speed only 3-4mbps in some areas these is a real need for new technology to be brought to all areas so that more than one user can enjoy high quality TV on their computers and be connected at the same time.

I'd like my broadband to be a lot faster, especially the uploads. I work as an Oracle database developer, and often spend 1 or 2 days a week working from home using a VPN. Trying to work with large data sets and data files even with 1Mb uploads is very limiting when compared with LAN speeds when working in the office. So while I think TV over the internet is a waste of resources I believe that lots of homeworkers would welcome faster speeds, and if faster speeds were available it might make home working feasible for a lot more people.

In reply to a post by sjr:

I'd like my broadband to be a lot faster, especially the uploads. I work as an Oracle database developer, and often spend 1 or 2 days a week working from home using a VPN. Trying to work with large data sets and data files even with 1Mb uploads is very limiting when compared with LAN speeds when working in the office. So while I think TV over the internet is a waste of resources I believe that lots of homeworkers would welcome faster speeds, and if faster speeds were available it might make home working feasible for a lot more people.

I suppose it depends how you're set up. I'm a software developer as welll. I write software that interfaces with MS Exchange and SharePoint databases so I'm also used to large files. We are actually part of a trans-Atlantic team with most of the guys based just outside Minneapolis. We have local copies of test data and we use Remote Desktop to control machines in the States.

But our office only has a 4/1 connection and it serves four software developers just fine.

So from my point of view working from home doesn't require high-speed connections either

In reply to a post by New_Londoner:

I'm told HD streaming needs around 4Mbps

Only if very well compressed with today's encoders. Probably needs manual intervention even then. Most HD channels on Sky broadcast between 10Mb/s and 15Mb/s but they are limited by the hardware. If we assume the very latest encoders/decoders then I suppose 7Mb/s might be acceptable.

In reply to a post by NilSatisOptimum:

Andrue-

Could you please define super fast broadband, with regards to method of delivery and speed.

Any technology that can reliably provide better than 20Mb/s to everyone, perhaps?

I'm not actually arguing against such a thing. I'd love FTTP myself. But I'm a bit of a geek. I'd pay for it just because I could. My problem is that I've always thought VoD was the only thing that might drive next-gen broadband. If it turns out hardly anyone wants it then it calls into question where the RoI for next-gen is ever going to come from.

In reply to a post by yarwell:

It only becomes an issue when public money is being asked for to build a next generation VOD / TV network, which as the OP implies is essentially what the NGA debate is about.

Thanks for that. Yes - you've understand my poorly phrased question

I'd love a country-wide FTTP roll-out but you need an RoI and now it seems like the one thing I thought could deliver that to people other than geeks seems not to be of interest :-/

Agreed, the real limitations are the much slower upload speeds. For many professionals, symmetric connections are far more useful.

you'll have to start inventing telemedicine or HD video conferencing as the imperative service to get you FTTH.

The idea of telemedicine makes me laugh, because the NHS IT world will be at the other end of it. I can't even email my doctor. I have heard advocates suggest telemedicine would avoid going to hospital for a scan or an X-ray, that would work if I happened to have an X-ray or MRI machine at home I guess

In reply to a post by yarwell:

The idea of telemedicine makes me laugh, because the NHS IT world will be at the other end of it. I can't even email my doctor.

We have a wonderful new system.

You log into a national (privately run?) site called the Waiting Room. On there you can order a repeat prescription.

You get an immediate email to confirm receipt by the site, and at some time another (also from the site) saying it has been "accepted" by the practice.

That's it! Not IT. As at the the practice, (ours at least), all they do is read it, then manually enter a repeat prescription into their own system just as usual if you request one by ringing; in person; or by dropping the repeat request in a cardboard box at the surgery.

No acknowledgement is sent back to the site by the surgery, so I can only assume the "acceptance" is that the practice staff have read the request and hopefully will process it.

We can also make an appointment to see the doctor of our choice. There is one slot at a fixed time per doctor-session available, so once that is gone - ring up. I've no idea what happens if you book one.

I have heard advocates suggest telemedicine would avoid going to hospital for a scan or an X-ray, that would work if I happened to have an X-ray or MRI machine at home I guess

Ahhh, no!

It means the consultant can work from home on your case whilst keeping an eye on Holby City. Maybe soon your scan in a window on the TV and perhaps in another one call up an Open University programme about your sort of problem.