One opportunity that will present itself in many countries is the migration from analogue to digital television, which will reduce the bandwidth needed for traditional free-to-air broadcasters.

ECONOMIST: Spectrum policy

Digital compression will allow television companies to squeeze more channels into the same bandwidth.

ECONOMIST: Digital television

To keep videos streaming on demand without annoying delays, most video sites use expensive content delivery networks like Akamai and Limelight, and sites like YouTube--as well as clones launched by practically every television network--have struggled to find an advertising model that produces enough revenue to offset those ballooning bandwidth costs.

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Mr Gilder, who still rages against bureaucracies, both government and corporate, believes that above all, abundant bandwidth will free us from the time-wasting that afflicts our daily lives, from clogged airports to television stations that interrupt programming with advertisements we don't want to see.

ECONOMIST: Praise the baud | The