-
The Company
The Company
- Ericsson is shaping the way the world communicates. Read on to discover more about our company, its history and vision.
-
Thinking Ahead
Tech Talk
- Do you want to know what the Social Web of Things is and how we can benefit? Watch our latest Tech Talk film
Thinking Ahead
- All our insights, research, and discussions are here in one place. Use them for Thinking Ahead.
-
Your Business
- Government
- Transport Industry
- Utilities Industry
- Developer Portal
- Equipment Manufacturers
- Channel Partner Program
Your Business
- Take a closer look at how Ericsson can help your business excel in a rapidly evolving market.
-
Our Portfolio
Our Portfolio
- Find out more about Ericsson’s comprehensive portfolio of innovative products, operator solutions and services.
-
Careers
Careers
- A career with Ericsson offers outstanding opportunities for professional and personal development in a truly global organization.
The Net effect
For most people in 1990, 'the Net' meant something that a ball was hit over in tennis or what hung under the rim in basketball. In the past 15 years though the Net, or internet as it is properly called, has changed the way we live, work and shop to such a degree that it's hard to imagine how we got along without it.
March 1, 2006
CNN recently polled readers of its website about defining moments in internet history. The search engine Google was judged as the most significant development, followed by free webmail, the dotcom bubble and news coverage.
From its earliest days as simple information pages to the current fascination with blogs, online photo albums and shopping, the internet has proved to be a flexible and viable medium, limited only by its users' imaginations. In the past five years alone there has been a 182% increase in the number of users worldwide and this trend is expected to continue as more and more people get access to computers and internet connections.
The power of the internet to retrieve, sort and process information has had a profound effect on how advertisers reach their audience. Consumers are able to quickly compare prices online and buy exactly what they what. In the book Freakonomics, economist Steven D. Levitt noted that in the late 1990s the price for term life insurance fell dramatically due to web sites that compared coverage and prices of different policies. Access to information has tipped the scales in the market place in favor of the consumer - thanks largely to the internet.
Many current uses of the internet came about because of advances in technology. For example, video chatting and streaming require the large bandwidth provided by a broadband connection. Other innovations such as IP telephony have reduced telephone costs for consumers.
As technological advances continue apace, the internet will continue to expand. Many internet service providers are now introducing what is commonly called the triple play - that is internet access, Voice over IP, and video on demand.
How the internet is accessed is also changing with the onset of 3G telephony and mobile internet. From a consumer's perspective, the difference between telephone networks and computer networks is getting harder to distinguish.
Consumers can already retrieve emails on their mobile phones, and with 3G networks they are able to video chat with computer users. Products such as Slingbox can now stream TV programs from your home to your mobile device via the internet. And with location based and push services, consumers are one click away from web sites that offer information, price comparisons, and maps and directions. Consumers will soon be able to find and get whatever they want, whenever they want, wherever they are.
The Net effect of all this is a world where information moves freely, content has a new platform, and communication is instant and cheap. What the future holds is anyone's guess, but advances in technology and mobile communication can soon put the world in everybody's pocket.
