11. Future of the Internet (cont)

3. The internet is too slow

You know the scene: You want to look at a video clip and you get endless 'buffering' messages. The fact is, the connection speed is often too slow and the problem lies mainly in the 'last mile' to your home.

The main internet 'backbone' to the telephone exchange is carried over fibre optic cable and that can carry traffic at a vast speed. But the last stretch to your house is done with copper wire. And that is very slow. So there are efforts underway to convert the last mile to fibre optic as well. Once that is in place we can look forward to smooth and buffer-free video streams.

4. Connecting to the internet will increase

Up to fairly recently, the only way to connect to the internet was to use a computer, either a desktop or a laptop using a modem. But now there are many other devices that can connect as well - mobile phone, tablets, e-book readers.

Also city-wide wireless connections are being set up so in the future you can look forward to being able to connect from anywhere using all kinds of devices.

5. The online and offline world will blur together

With connection to the internet becoming available anywhere, anytime, it is now possible to blend what you are seeing with extra information streaming from the internet. This is called 'augmented reality' or AR for short.

For instance viewing a city street on a smart phone not only shows the shops in view, but it may stream special offers and other details on the view as well. Just like those science fiction movies where the cyborg sees overlaid data as he walks around, except in real life it is more about the kind of pizza on offer!

Conclusion

All in all, you can expect the internet to become faster, anywhere, anytime and to become as much part of our everyday lives as the mobile phone has become, even on the move.