It has been an extraordinary decade for the Internet, encompassing an economic and dot.com boom and bust period. Alongside a comprehensive restructuring of global communications, this has generated a set of changes that have transformed the way we now work and play.

In 1998 there seemed to be nothing left in the technology landscape that could serve our emerging needs for communications in the same way as the Internet. Yet, while very little of the Internet that exists today was accurately predicted back then, some of the problems we encountered remain today.

A good example is the availability of Internet Protocol addresses. In 1998, we were already aware of the limited availability of IPv4 addresses and, as a result, an upgraded version called IPv6 was developed. However, 10 years on and the majority of Internet infrastructure still runs on IPv4, and it is forecasted that we will run of these addresses by 2011.

Internet technologies have changed dramatically in the last 10 years, with an explosion in the uptake of groundbreaking applications, Web 2.0 and social networking offerings. These developments have radically impacted the way organisations and individuals use the Internet.

Increasingly consumers and business are looking to take advantage of these life and business enhancers on the move, and this is driving huge latent demand for fast Internet to all mobile devices.

With technologies in development at the moment to bring fast Internet to all mobile devices, the potential for the mobile Internet just keeps expanding. Coupled with an increasing reliance on mobile devices for Internet access - as society becomes more mobile and with the growth of converged and wireless communications and upcoming cloud services - the potential is catalysed further.

Technologies like LTE and WiMAX will offer speeds of around 100 Mbps. These technologies will provide users with enhanced speed, global standards and an IP address for every piece of equipment. Consumers and business users alike will benefit from high-speed, mobile networks based on Internet protocol that offer fixed DSL-like speeds anywhere the 4G network reaches.

This demand for faster mobile broadband access by business users alone is a strong driver. Market research firm, ...