Power Prophets Will Prove To Be Mistaken
You might have thought that the election would have kept them busy but no, the Prophets of Doom focused on the Internet this week.
Apparently, using the net is gobbling ever increasing amounts of power and the end is nigh. Andrew Ellis, professor of optical communications at Aston University, kicked it off.
He said that not only is there concern about our optical fibres filling up but that use of the internet already consumes eight per cent of all UK’s power.
With the same rate of growth, our electricity generation capacity would be exhausted in 20 years. Online Doomsdayers were quick to mobilise.
Prices would rocket, usage of the web would be capped, they only just stopped short of bringing back the three-day week in their predications of impending calamity.
Although it takes very little power to charge up a tablet, the issue is one of infrastructure.
Our devices are served by a host of air conditioned data centres, communications hubs, mobile telephony aerials and the like.
All of these need to be constantly powered, day and night. There are two reasons, though, why any predications of a catastrophic exhaustion of capacity are misplaced.
Firstly further quantum leaps in throughput are in the pipeline.
We have come a long way since we put our dial-up modems in the bin and there is further to go.
Secondly, there are limits to growth.
How much more time could the average Joe or Jo actually spend online than they do today?
The developments of the past couple of decades have changed our lives, but surely the rate at which we increase our consumption must be slowing by now?
