ADSL experts have predicted that approximately a third of internet users world-wide will be using broadband technology for high-speed access within the next two years.

However, the UK is still lagging behind in the broadband race owing partly to the lack of competition for BT. For the first time this year however, BT will be allowing competing telcos access to their copper wires and also there have been technological advances made to ADSL devices meaning that subscribers do not have to install complex equipment in their homes requiring the services of a technician.

The newer equipment is now self-installing and the cost has been dramatically reduced, thus attracting more people to using the internet at home.

The reason for broadband being so important is that it will always be connected and users will only have to pay a flat rate basis, this will mean that the number of homes connected to broadband is likely to triple.

It has been stated that broadband is likely to intensify the digital divide, mainly in rural areas where ADSL is not going to be available in the first instance. Telcos are more likely to roll-out broadband facilities in areas where the most profit can be made. It was suggested that a UK government-sponsored programme to bring broadband into rural communities may need to be introduced, exactly as the government initiative that funded the process of bringing the telephone network to rural areas early last century.