UK broadband to soar in 2008

The Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) is forecasting healthy growth rates for IPTV, VoIP and video conferencing services over the coming year.

Increased demand from UK users for high-quality online TV will ensure that broadband providers upgrade their networks to provide faster, more reliable connections, according to the ISP trade association.

Improvements to broadband networks will in turn spur technological innovation on the content and applications side.

"Broadband has made possible web technologies such as streaming media, telephone over the internet, and the downloading and consuming of movies and music," said an ISPA spokesperson.

Broadband comparison service uSwitch predicted last year that 21 million UK households will be connected to the internet by 2010, with dial-up accounting for just one million homes.