Perhaps we can be characterized by whether or not we believe we have an acceptable speed of internet access. At home and work, I’m in the category that’s never satisfied by the speed provided. Well, now there is a completely new standard: 1.125 Tb/s. That’s 50,000 times faster than anything commercially available at the moment. You could download a boxed set of the entire Games of Thrones saga in a second; at least that’s how Professor Polina Bayvel described her latest research in a recent conference that I attended at the Royal Society. Professor Bayvel is head of the Optical Networks Group at University College London. I think the UK government should abandon attempting to extend the current internet technology to everyone in the country and instead leap-frog the rest of the world by working on rolling out Prof Bayvel’s new technology.
Sources:
Realize Engineering 
supercool!
The U.S. has made fairly good progress in making basic internet available to individual homes (only 2% lack access), but the cost keeps creeping up. Thanks to the Gates Foundation and the work of librarians, free computers and internet are available in almost every public library, even in the smallest rural town. Most libraries have to use a reservation system as demand is so high. My internet/cable TV bill (the company will not provide internet access unless you subscribe to cable TV as well) costs more than my combined electricity/water/garbage and gas bills. In other words, it is my single largest utility expense. The startling thing in the U.S. is how many persons insist they don’t want internet access in their homes. With smart phones though, the whole picture of internet access being required at home has changed somewhat..
Wow that’s super fast but until the average Joe and friends and family can use their computer/internet for Sciences or Engineering its pretty well a useless thing.
I mean how much more Entertainment does a human need these days?
Sitting next to each other texting away when you can actually say something boggles the mind.
We need a way of getting every one to get behind science/medicine because sports and TV movies do not pay the bills or cure your illnesses.
Cheers Allan