In the modern world, being connected to the rest of the planet via the internet is a major demand of consumers. And it's not just the connection we want, but the speediest, most reliable broadband service possible with the available technology. And all this, only a decade or so after attaching a file to an email was considered a palaver. The rate at which expectations have mushroomed since the beginning of the 21^st Century is simply astonishing.

And yet 50% of American citizens fall short of the minimum standard of service - as set by the FCC - by having either a slow download speed or a dial-up connection. There is a yawning chasm between the technology that is commercially available, and the actual uptake of that technology. And considering the real disadvantage you're at if you don't have internet access, that chasm is deep and crocodile-filled.

Entire corporations can be run online. Brand new areas of commerce are being born by virtue of connectivity. Furthermore, those existing companies that do not adapt to a fibre-optic world can expect to become extinct. Education and entertainment can both be accessed by video and audio streaming, downloading documents, or simply reading web pages. Lectures can be paused, rewound, studied more closely than a real-life lecture ever could. Educational films can be viewed repeatedly, and studied alongside essays and papers, which in turn can be discussed on forums and message-boards, and questions arising from those discussions submitted to experts in the field. Traditional university education, the only place to foster bright minds for a thousand years, is finally on the verge of becoming an anachronism. And it's all through the power of the internet.

Which is why providers such as Sky, offering high-speed, low-cost broadband, are of such vital importance to the modern economy. The Sky Unlimited broadband option features 20Mb download speeds, allowing the user to stream movies without interruption, and download music in a matter of seconds. Best of all, they do not adopt the standard - and so-called -  'fair usage' policy of most providers, making the Unlimited package truly worthy of its name. You also get a McAfee security suite free with the Sky Unlimited broadband package.

Sky's Broadband Unlimited pack comes with Sky TV's on-demand service, Sky Player. You also get a wireless router (worth

₤ 50), 24/7 technical support online and over the phone, and a sky.com email address with up to 10GB storage.

For broadband internet, check out Sky.com.

The prices and availability of all products mentioned in the above article are subject to change.