Internet finds the next killer App

Companies are rapidly developing new Internet delivery technologies, and as these new technologies reach mainstream users, customers will require new applications that can make use of the increasing Internet speeds.

Looking at the evolution of Internet, Internet evolved in stages, and at each stage there was a killer app -which made customers embrace Internet. Now as 4G wireless Internet gains market acceptance, there is a need for a new killer app.

Looking at the evolution of Internet technology, here is how it evolved:

Rev1: research lab connectivity 2.6Kbps-9.6Kbps

Universities in the US started using Internet as a novel way to share data. The main applications were Archie, Jughead, & Veronica - the first versions of search technology.

Rev2: Early adaptors: 14.4Kbps-33Kbps

With faster dial-up connectivity, techies and early adaptors developed Bulletin Board Service (BBS). BBS became the killer app. It allowed sers to loginto a computer, share files, post information on bulletins.

Rev3: WWW & AOL: 56Kbps, eMail, AOL & WWW

Internet took off big time with the 56Kbps dial-up Internet speeds and AOL eMails. American users embraced Internet in large numbers, and as World Wide Web swept the world. E-commerce was just coming up on the horizon when the next version of Internet was developed.

Rev4: Cable Broadband & DSL. High speed 2-8 Mbps

It the era of broadband Internet. E-commerce was the driving force which made people cancel their AOL accounts and sign-up for DSL or cable broadband. The real killer app for this high speed Internet was Peer-2-Peer networking and MP3. People all over the world embraced high speed Internet for free music and convenience of e-commerce. Google, Amazon and iTunes emerged as the ultimate winners of this technology.

Rev5: 3G/WiMax, GPRS, WiFi. The era of Mobile Internet

Wireless broadband opened the doors for a huge population of the world. People with smart phones could now access Internet anywhere on their mobile devices. The mobility attraced billions of people all around the world & embraced web 2.0 in huge droves. Facebook became the killer app for the mobile Internet. Google estabilished itself as the king of search engines.

Rev6: 4G LTE,100Mbps: The era of ultra broadband Internet.

Year 2011 marks the beginning of the era of ultra broadband Internet. 17Mbps and faster Internet speeds meets iPad & iTV (Apple TV). Cloud computing and Video on Demand will be the killer application for this ultra-broadband Internet. High Definition TV content now has a distribution arm with cloud computing and ultra-broadband Internet.

Internet Technology has been a game changer. Every 36 months, faster Internet speeds are introduced and application developers are quick to capitalize on this bandwidth. Companies that make best use of this will win, others will lose.