How Speed Became The Internet's Most Important Factor

Image by Panumas Nikhomkhai from Pixabay

 

'Slow down, you're moving too fast,' is not something anyone ever said about the internet. Speed is king, and without decent upload and download internet speeds, thanks to superfast broadband, fiber optic cables, and 4 and 5 networks, the modern lifestyles we take for granted could not exist.

When the worldwide web was first conceived, people had lofty ideas about exchanging information, online shopping, in-person conference calling, the ability to download music and video games, and payments being made 'in cyberspace'. While some people were incredibly skeptical, others jumped on the 'e-commerce' bandwagon. It seemed internet entrepreneurs only needed to have a spark of a good idea and a mock-up of their proposed website to attract attention and investors willing to part with ridiculous amounts of seed capital.

Ideas began to spring up around 1995, and more and more companies sporting the name 'interactive', dotcom, and e-something or other appeared. What was known as the dotcom bubble was a heady period lasting around two years. However, in 2000, the inevitable happened, and the bubble became too big and burst. What followed was the dotcom crash triggered by the fall of technology stock. Most of the 'interactive' companies were little more than concepts without real business plans, products, or the ability to make profits. The money dried up, and thousands of start-ups went under.

While it can be argued that it was the drying up of cheap capital that caused the crash, it was also down to a complete lack of internet speed or adequate technology to take the fledgling companies from the drawing board to profitable companies. Even behemoths like Amazon did not escape the vagaries of the market or the fact that the ideas were way ahead of what technology could deliver. Starting as an online bookseller, they had to lay off staff, diversify their products, and focus on long-term goals to survive. Unlike most other start-ups at the time, they had massively deep pockets but did not turn a profit for nine years. Most organizations were unable to do this. 

The biggest obstacle to the sector's success was that the networks were simply not fast enough to deliver the ideas. In the early days, connection to the internet was via a dial-up modem, and no one working in the sector at the time would forget the sound the connection made. Even the most straightforward websites were painfully slow to load, and anything more than text-based sites were almost impossible to access from a standard copper connection. In addition, there was no safe way to pay for anything, as online transactions were little more than a fantasy. Site security was almost non-existent and there was general distrust around online purchases and transactions.

However, once upload and download speeds were improved through the introduction of fiber optic cables and fast digital networks, the technology could finally catch up with the original ideas. While very few of the original dotcom companies were still around, companies such as Google, Apple, eBay, and PayPal were able to make the most of cyberspace and become the giants they are today. They were all founded by people who had great ideas but, in addition, were backed up with the technology required to flourish when the necessary infrastructure was in place, ready for the next round of future inventions and web ideas.

Unlike the original dotcom boom, the second dawning of the internet saw established brands and multinationals transform their business models from land-based to hybrid stores and sites. One sector that was quick to make the most of the opportunities of faster internet speeds, improved site security, and reliable, trustworthy payment options was the betting and casino sector.

Gambling has always been a popular pastime, whether pushed underground or encouraged to flourish. It seems to be second nature, whether it be playing friends at cards or hoping our 'lucky' numbers come up. Casinos were always glamorous places, and their online versions allowed people to enjoy the fun from the comfort of their own homes. Increased internet speeds coincided with many countries changing their attitude to gambling, and a whole regulated sector burst onto the internet in the early 2000s. The faster connection speeds allowed more complex, engaging games to be developed. This has created the need for affiliates, where sites like Casino.org research fastest payouts to give players the chance to get their hands on their winnings in record time. The fastest withdrawal casinos have only been possible due to the immense speed the internet as a whole has now reached.

High-speed connections meant that people could stream their entertainment and no longer needed to buy physical games, music, films, or TV programs. Everything could be stored in the cloud and just accessed as and when required. People no longer needed to have shelves full of DVDs, CDs, or video games to access entertainment. While the devices people use to access the internet have become increasingly sophisticated, they are no longer overloaded with massive files and storage issues. Superfast connections allow customers to access websites, apps, and cloud-based storage without glitching, buffering and issues loading.

The networks delivering these superfast connections are improving all the time. Not so long ago a user might have been delighted to be able to access fiber to the cabinet, but once they have experienced a fiber connection to their own home, what went before seems terribly slow and old-fashioned. The same is true of mobile networks. Where we were once delighted just to be able to send text messages, we now expect the same functionality and speed of our smartphones as we do of our desktop and laptop computers.

Speed puts everything at our fingertips, and the faster our connection, the less tolerant we are when it slows down. For example, expect to be able to see our bank balance and transfer money in real-time, find a reference in a flash, or watch whatever we want on TV right now. The networks are the infrastructure that allows us to benefit from everything the worldwide web now has to offer. The internet's earlier shortcomings were primarily due to a lack of infrastructure akin to trying to connect a country by high-speed trains without having any railway tracks in place. However, once there, we cannot comprehend what it was like before.