Oftel has caved in to ISP pressure and watered down its definition of a broadband technology to exclude the "must be capable of delivering real-time video content" clause and now defines broadband as speeds faster than dialup:

"Not defining data speeds will not affect services," stated the spokeswoman. The regulator decided this spring that 256Kbps was the minimum bandwidth capable of delivering video content, although ISPs argue that more is needed.

An Oftel spokeswoman told vnunet.com: "In our consultations with industry it became clear that the delivery of real-time video content was no longer seen as a requirement for broadband."

In its market review, to be published in November, Oftel has dropped the requirement that connections must be capable of delivering real-time video content in order to be classified as broadband.

To be fair, the varying different video codec's and settings meant that such a clause wouldn't have been practical to test.

More importantly is the fact that Oftel, once again, appears to have skated around a definition of 'speed', simply stating that broadband must be faster than dialup.

The change has been seen as one that panders to specific ISPs and the government, rather than the market as a whole. Unsurprisingly many have voiced their concerns. More @ VNUNet.