Market for fast broadband 'set to grow'

The worldwide market for superfast Ethernet connections, which has witnessed double-digit growth in 2009, is expected to grow further still, it has been claimed.

IT director for eDigitalResearch Shane Wright suggested that more businesses may choose to upgrade to the superfast connections because of reduced cost differences.

However, it could be some years before ten gigabit Ethernet becomes mainstream, he said.

There are two main reasons why businesses choose to speed up their local area networks, he added. A need for more bandwidth, either from more users or from applications, or reduced cost differences between gigabit and ten gigabit mean that firms will opt for faster connections.

By doing this now, they are also "future-proofing" their businesses, he suggested.

Mr Wright's comments follow research from 10GEA which found highlighted that almost all traffic on the internet starts or ends with an Ethernet connection.

Transferring to ten gigabit Ethernet should cause relatively little disruption to a business, the organisation also argued.