Internet connections go down the tubes

Recently, Bournemouth became the first English city to get a new form of super-fast internet. While that's great news for the 88,000 homes and businesses that will get new 100 Mbps connections, the real news is how they're going to get it. H2O Networks Ltd, the company that's funding the project, will be bringing the internet cable through Bournemouth's sewer system.

While I appreciate the humorous potential that a sewer-borne internet system offers, the truth of the matter is that this is an amazingly brilliant idea. Having spent years dealing with incredibly slow dial-up connections, I finally sprung for a cable connection when it came to my neighborhood. In addition to the considerable monthly cost, I also had to pay to have the cable laid across my (landlord's) lawn. Now that I live in the big city, I don't have to shell out cash to have cable laid, but my area of the Bronx only has one internet service provider, which means that I'm stuck with paying the monopoly rate for my internet.