CheezeDMG Blog

So Virgin Media is launching its 50MB broadband…all it needs is to put in place a vast network of futuristic, whizzy-sounding fibre optic cable like what you get in those natty Christmas trees that change colour, and then we’ll all be able to have a go! Well, not all of us…by the time the network’s down, we’ll all be flying round in Deloreans and the 12m homes it is currently available to will have taken over the world…but it’s coming to a home near you! And it’s coming at some point in the next, oooh, 10 years?

The question is, will that bird lady from Strictly still be popular when it’s finally available and promotable to the masses?

BT have said they’ll invest £1.5bn in laying cable across the country – but who will tie us down? (sorry). The fact that the internet is getting quicker is undeniable, but the rate of acceleration is questionable – how many of us have the promise of 8MB with the reality of 1.1? BT have the 25MB solution out there, but we’re so used to virtual disappointment that it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Virgin Media are promising the future and delivering a load of roadworks.

The implication in terms of digital marketing is the simple speed with which we expect search results to be returned, sites to load, questions to be answered, products to be delivered, needs to be met. The line between your computer and TV is already being blurred with the red button, iplayer, surfing the interweb via your Wii on your TV (ok so it’s not a great experience but it’s a sign of intent), so it can’t be long before the ‘one solution’ is in our homes and BT, Virgin Media, surely Sky and some of the mobile phone operators have waded into a price war for the cheapest fibre optic broadband (I can hear the price comparison sites rubbing their hands) – I’ll go for the one that comes with a free 50MB-ready PC/TV combo, I’m going to call it the ‘personal interface social-network screen’.