Death of dial-up: Businesses to sound last post for narrowband?

NEWS The push towards broadband take-up across Europe will be led by businesses who will ditch dial-up in increasing numbers to pursue the fat pipe dream, says new research. Analyst group IDC predicts that despite business broadband connections still lingering below the three million mark at the end of last year, Europe will be caught in a broadband business boom, with the number of connections hitting more than 12 million by 2007, in order to serve a more content and service oriented market. And it's the business big boys who'll be leading the way towards a narrowband switch-off, with medium- and large-sized companies making the changeover to satisfy their access needs, although IDC believes the number of narrowband connections will drop across firms of all sizes as firms upgrade from traditional leased lines to high-speed broadband alternatives. Leased lines, too, look set to go the way of the dodo, with the amount of lines decreasing by four per cent year on year for some time to come, as larger companies replace them with ADSL connections. It's a trend that will force ISPs to offer more than just mere connectivity, with quality of service guarantees, value-added services and more business-oriented content for users, although IDC foresees a trend for firms to keep a secondary connections. Chris Drake, senior analyst at IDC's European IP services research division, said that providers will "focus on migrating customers to higher-value connection services, which will include those that incorporate higher bandwidths, as well as connections that are bundled with additional services tailored to support the needs of businesses".