In a few years, the Internet in Britain may start releasing coupons



    Or not by coupons, but you can forget about unlimited round-the-clock access to the Network, and, probably, the same situation will be in other countries, not only in the UK. And this is not the scenario of some post-apocalyptic film, but simple calculations, the results of which were recently presented by specialists of the Royal Scientific Society.

    The thing is that network equipment, technologies consume a lot of energy. In Britain, the Internet consumes about 8% of all the energy that is generated here. Quantitative data are not provided, but the equivalent is given in nuclear power plants. So, 8% of UK electricity is generated by three nuclear power plants. At the same time, needs are constantly growing, 8% is far from the limit.

    Access to the Network may soon be severely limited, or even prohibited for the general public. Users are now consuming more and more heavy content, including HD video, and the need for this kind of content is constantly growing, doubling every four years.

    By the end of the decade, the island’s current network infrastructure will be exhausted, and new resources, data centers, and highways will be needed. According to some experts , if this continues, then by 2035 the British Internet infrastructure will consume all the energy that is produced on the island.



    At the same time, if it is theoretically possible to expand the network infrastructure, the UK will not be able to generate more energy. That is why experts presented a negative scenario for the development of the Network in the region, when they will have to refuse unlimited access to the Internet, and users will pay for what they consume, megabytes (as it was recently). In difficult cases, access to the Network will be completely closed.

    Network bandwidth in the UK can also be increased, but only for telecom operators it will already be economically disadvantageous. “We can expand the network by laying additional cables, but it will be economically unprofitable, plus energy consumption will rise,” Andrew Lord, head of optics at British Telecom, commented on the situation.

    According to the Lord, one of the most real solutions to this problem is not a monthly fee, but payment for the consumed traffic.

    On May 11-12, the Royal Society will hold a public hearing on this issue in London .

    Only registered users can participate in the survey. Please come in.

    Do you think this scenario is realistic?

    • 64% No, these are telecommunications companies just want more money, that's what scares the population 82
    • 25% Possible, but unlikely, as long as this is only a theory, one of many 32
    • 2.3% Yes, it is quite possible, I already purchase board games, I will have fun when the Internet is turned off for me 3
    • 8.5% I don't care 11

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