Plusnet Reveals Smart Internet Will Help Manage Homes and Lives by 2027

SHEFFIELD, England, February 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Plusnet, the home phone and broadband specialist, has published a new report revealing that the Internet will become ubiquitous in many people's lives, transforming the way people shop, eat and run their homes.

The award-winning super-fast broadband provider renowned for bringing value to its customers, commissioned the research to celebrate its 15th birthday. The detailed research, which was conducted by globally renowned futurist think tank, Centre for Future Studies, shows that the internet of 15 years' time will become the Internet of services.  

Written by a team headed by Dr. Frank Shaw, who has been described by Time Magazine as one of the 10 most influential thinkers in the world, the report unveils that the internet will include everything from smart appliances that talk to each other to clothes that monitor health; from cars that can't crash to mobile technologies and cloud platforms that run businesses.

However these benefits will not be felt by all of society. There are currently still 8.43 million adults in the UK who have never used the Internet and it is estimated that digitally challenged households face £560* of extra costs per year as a result of missing out on online discounts and opportunities.

With people already using the internet for activities including shopping, banking, study, job application and government services, the availability and affordable pricing of broadband will be crucial in terms of household finances and also social mobility.

Providing some of the best value home phone and broadband packages available in the UK, Plusnet is committed to enabling people to experience the benefits of being online; something which is going to become increasingly important in the future.

Jamie Ford, CEO of Plusnet, said: "So far, the Internet has been all about sharing, communicating and engaging with content online. The next 15 years will see an exciting transformation take place, where we integrate 'smart devices' into the home, and the net becomes much more about rich services. Since our launch 15 years ago we've moved from dial-up services to wireless connection transmitted through fibre optics at superfast speeds, yet our commitment to providing a reliable service at a competitive price remains the same. We intend to continue this pledge in years to come.

"Helping people to discover the Internet is key to the progress of technology and just by giving an hour of your time to teach the basics of computing and the internet to a friend or family member could completely change their life."

The research shows that while the Internet is the most fundamental life changing event since the Industrial Revolution the public is, incredibly, only predicted to be 15 per cent of the way through it and that future developments will have radical life enhancing benefits, therefore placing even greater importance on providing access to the Internet at an affordable price.

The home internet of the future will change the way people run their homes, how they enjoy entertainment, the way they work, the way they shop and the way they communicate and, as a result, place even greater emphasis on the importance of being able to access affordable Internet.

Notes to Editors:

*2009, Office for National Statistics

About Plusnet:

Plusnet offers faster broadband packages, including Plusnet Value and Plusnet Extra broadband, both available to purchase with home phone, fibre optic broadband and a prioritisation service, Plusnet Pro. Further broadband deals can be found on the Plusnet website.

Plusnet Value offers speeds of up to 20Mb with a monthly usage limit of 10GB. Plusnet Extra offers speeds of up to 20Mb with a monthly usage limit of 60GB and free McAfee security.

PR Contact:
Laura Mottram
Head of PR
2 Tenter Street
Sheffield
S1 4BT
+44(0)114-273-3605
http://www.plus.net