The time is approaching when consumers will be able to download an entire DVD in a matter of seconds. On Thursday, Kabel Deutschland, Germany's largest cable operator, said that it had been able to deliver download speeds of 4.7GBPS during a field test in the northeastern town of Schwerin, near Hamburg. "Using this speed, a DVD could theoretically be downloaded within eight seconds," the company said in a statement. However, it added, "Current standard laptops or modems cannot even process these high speeds. It will take many more years until users find online services and web content that need a download speed of up to 4.7GBPS." Currently most high-speed cable systems in the U.S. top out at around 20-30MBPS, although Verizon announced last week that, beginning this month, it will be offering a FIOS package that will enable downloads at about 300MBPS.

01/06/2012