Virgin’s new 50Mb broadband service will provide the fastest access in Britain – but the cost involved could be a turn-off to many during tough economic times.

Customers who subscribe to Virgin Media’s new 50 megabits per second service will have to pay a minimum of £46 per month for the deal, making it around twice as expensive as its nearest rival, Be Broadband.

Ian Watt, an analyst with Enders Analysis, believes consumers might be put off from upgrading to the highest speed services because of the cost involved.

High street stores are suffering against online retail sales, suggesting that stores that do not have an online presence will be missing out this Christmas.

Despite fears of a credit crunch christmas, online spending surged by 16 per cent in November compared with the same time last year, according to the IMRG Capgeminie-retail sales index. Last month's sales were also up by 26 per cent on October, when consumer confidence took a blow from the fallout of the banking crisis.

In a separate survey, Experian found that retail footfall dropped by an average of 9.1 per cent at the weekend; Saturday's high street traffic fell by 13.12 per cent and Sunday's by 4.99 per cent.

The BBC, ITV and BT are working together to a broadband ‘Freeview’ service, which would allow customers to view ‘on-demand’ shows via their Televisions.

The plan is to create a standards based open environment for broadband connected digital receivers, which would help content providers and Internet Service Providers to adopt the technology.

BBC director general, Mark Thompson said: "Audiences tell us that they want more services through their television set. I am pleased that the BBC is working with industry partners such as device manufacturers, ISPs and other content providers on proposals which will bring real benefits for consumers."

With the UK market now literally flooded with broadband offers, choosing the right provider for your business can seem a daunting task. Though it may seem easiest to sign up to the first offer that comes along, you could miss out on big savings or get caught in a very expensive contract by not doing your research. To help you with this important task, we’ve outlined the most important things to factor into your decision.

Advertising products and services over the internet could help small businesses increase turnover by a firth, according to new figures from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

The FSB's biennial survey of 8,700 members found that 43 per cent of respondents improved their sales after linking to suppliers and using the web to advertise their firm, showing the ever-increasing value of the internet to business transactions, particularly during an economic downturn.

The survey also revealed that the number of small businesses who have a web presence has leapt by a quarter to around 70 per cent since the last survey.