As the UK economy continues to struggle amid significant investment by the UK government and UK business leaders, there is a general feeling that the UK broadband market could be a significant factor in the eventual recovery of the UK economy. The ability for more traditional businesses to move online and operate at a fraction of their historic cost bases will surely be a plus point that many can ill afford to ignore.
As we have seen in the retail market, broadband connectivity has proved decisive in seeing more and more customers move online to obtain goods at cheap prices, keep track of regular promotions and arrange delivery direct to their doorstep. If this same development was to be transferred to the business arena this would place more and more pressure on traditional off-line businesses which would need to adapt and accommodate the new online environment.
It is also interesting to see that the UK government has over the last 12 months dropped a number of hints regarding future taxation issues in relation to online trading and online businesses. Up until now the Internet has been very difficult to police and even more difficult to obtain tax income from due to the diversity and substantial opportunities available to everybody around the world. However, developments in broadband technology over the last couple of years now make it possible to earmark income from the UK and potentially allow the authorities to take their share of revenue in the form of tax.