Broadband, which allows high-speed information exchange over a phone line, has yet to take off in great numbers in Europe.

BBC: The Xbox

Many rural communities are several miles from a telephone exchange - too far for high-speed broadband to work - while satellite connection for high-speed access is very expensive and carries the risk of added technical problems.

BBC: High speed rural broadband hope

All its computers now include a built-in antenna which, in conjunction with a networking card, can exchange data with a small base station plugged into a broadband Internet connection up to 45 metres (150 feet) away.

ECONOMIST: The wireless Internet: A LAN line | The

Individually and through trade groups and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the industry is bent on shutting down existing publicly-owned broadband systems and blocking the development of new ones.

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