Indeed, the broadcaster would step squarely into the digital age, becoming part of a ' triple play' offering: television, broadband internet and telephony.

Openreach owns the copper wires and fibre that connect homes and businesses to telephone exchanges, enabling broadband internet connections.

This has long been true of free banking and cut-price airlines, and it is apparent that the same applies to broadband internet access.

The rise of broadband internet and the collapse in the price of high-quality digital video cameras made the online distribution and streaming of films much easier.