Who needs a 'Killer App'? Two Perspectives on Content in Residential Broadband Networks

This paper describes the deployment of residential broadband networks by relating two parallel but contrasting stories. Story 1 considers network providers’ search for a killer application to drive demand for broadband networks, while Story 2 suggests that consumers have already found a killer application in e-mail and basic connectivity. It appears that residential broadband networks are currently being developed with a Story 1 perspective in mind. Story 2 should be assessed in the context of its historical persistence and significance. The implications for future development of residential broadband networks are considered when both stories are accepted as plausible.