TMA 2000: Broadband not enough

Jane Wakefield ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 09 Oct 2000 15:13 BST

To fulfill its promise as the provider of video, the much-hyped broadband Internet will need a corporate make-over. This is the conclusion of one of the key speakers at this year's Telecommunication Managers Association conference in Brighton.

Carl Fenger, marketing manager of software firm the Fantastic Corporation, believes the hype about broadband will not become reality until copyright issues, methods of paying for content and quality of service have become an integral part of the broadband package. In the meantime, Fenger predicts grim times ahead for companies expecting to deliver video on current networks.

"Video content on the Internet is technically and commercially not feasible," he says, claiming that companies planning to deliver video would go bust within two years.

Instead the future will lie in uniting broadcasting, Internet and telecommunications. The transition to broadband will require copyright to be in place and for networks to come pre-installed with methods of paying for content.

This will come as a bitter pill for those currently enjoying free audio services like Napster but is an inevitable result of a more grown-up Internet, Fenger believes.

"Content is a valuable asset and revenue models need to be put in place".

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