Video, Interactivity Could Slow Web By 2010

By: E&P Staff USA Today is reporting that due in large part to interactivity and video applications, the web may start to slow down as early as 2010.

A study by business technology analysts Nemertes Research released the data which were embraced by the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), a tech industry and public interest coalition that advocates tax and spending policies that favor investments in Web capacity.

To avoid a slowdown, these companies, and increasingly, wireless services providers in North America, must invest up to $55 billion, Nemertes says. That's almost 70% more than planned.

Much of that is needed for costly running of new high-capacity lines. Verizon, for example, is replacing copper lines with fiber optic for its FiOS service, which has 1.3 million Internet subscribers.