clipped from: news.bbc.co.uk   
Net gridlock by 2010 study warns
Consumer demand for bandwidth could see the internet running out of capacity as early as 2010, a new study warns.

US analyst firm Nemertes Research predicted a drastic slowdown as the network struggles to cope with the amount of data being carried on it.

Such gridlock would drastically affect how people use the web and could mean the next Google or YouTube simply doesn't get off the ground, it said.

The report said billions needed to be spent upgrading broadband networks.

It put the figure at around $137bn (£66bn) globally.

For users, the slowdown could see a return to the bad old days of dial-up, the report predicts.

A future net meltdown could bring the return of waiting for downloads
"It may take more than one attempt to confirm an online purchase or it may take longer to download the latest video from YouTube," the report cited.
The report is part-funded by the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA) which campaigns for universal broadband in the US.