High-speed broadband may be needed for video streaming

A rise in the quantity of online video content being watched by web users suggests that high-speed broadband services may be needed sooner rather than later.

Research from ComScore reveals that in April this year there was a year-on-year rise of almost 50 per cent in the number of videos watched in the UK, with YouTube and the BBC's iPlayer service proving the most popular sites.

Broadband speeds beyond the government's two megabits-per-second (Mbps) target may be needed to ensure video content can be properly accessed and to help run applications such as VoIP solutions more quickly.

While speeds of 2Mbps may be an improvement for some of the more remote communities in the UK that are not located near a telephone exchange, businesses have argued that many corporate programmes already need services faster than this.

High-speed broadband services could allow users to view high-definition online video content through several portals in the same house.