Connectivity has become the key demand of consumers in Western culture. It’s easy to forget that ten years ago, even attaching a file to an email was a time-consuming performance. The speed at which customer expectations have grown since the turn of the century is matched only by the high-velocity connectivity now meeting – and raising – those expectations.
And yet half of American citizens don’t meet the FCC’s broadband speed standard – meaning they either have dial-up or no access at all. This gulf between modern broadband capability and the uptake of that technology by the masses is incredible when you consider the difference in power between the haves and the have-nots.
Entire businesses are now run online, and consequently, huge areas of commerce are opening up and expanding, leaving those unable or unwilling to keep up at a huge disadvantage. Access to education and entertainment is increasingly attained through the web – and often requires video and audio streaming, both bandwidth-hogging activities.
And the need for speed only grows. As people get used to faster and faster download speeds, they want it faster and faster still.
Among the most high-speed connections available is offered by Sky’s Unlimited broadband pack. Features include 20Mb download speed, enabling you to download music in seconds and play games and stream videos without interruption. Sky has the edge on many competitors with their Unlimited usage policy – which is really an anti-policy to the usual ‘fair usage’ restrictions imposed by other ISPs. You also get up to 1.3Mb upload speeds, meaning you can share videos, photos and other large files more easily than ever. Additionally, you get a free 12 month trial of the McAfee Internet Security Suite to protect you from scams, spam, spyware and viruses.
The Sky Broadband Unlimited pack includes access to Sky TV’s online on demand service, Sky Player – although this is dependent on the channels you subscribe to (so isn’t available to internet-only customers). You also get a wireless router (worth £50), 24/7 technical support online and over the phone, and a sky.com email address with up to 10GB storage.
For high speed internet with Sky you pay just £15 per month, or £10 per month when you get Sky TV (price and availability subject to change). Check out the Sky website for more information.
