Amazing London new business boom predicted for 2010 (if TalkTalk is right...)

In some frantically wide ranging and odd research, TalkTalk has claimed today that we'll be doing all kinds of exciting things online in 2010 to improve our miserable, lonely lives. As well as this, we could see the number of businesses in the capital sky rocket to unbelievable proportions, if the wildly random survey can be believed.

Fortunately the press release didn't reveal anything too boring or fiddly, such as the number of participants, or the actual questions asked, but hey - the important thing is that it makes good reading, right? I'd link to the survey, but it isn't on TalkTalk's release website yet. But suffice it to say there were no real numbers on show.

The survey revealed that 61 per cent of us will use the internet to shop for better deals. Quite why the other 39 per cent won't bother would be an interesting thing to find out, I would've thought, but this didn't seem to be a question. Or what the 61 per cent will be looking for, exactly? We at Genie can only hope it's a better broadband deal.

But the 'research' saves the best for last, with the revelation that one in 10 Londoners are looking to start their own business this year. While I'm well aware there is a world of difference between 'looking' and 'doing', 10 per cent?! Of course, it doesn't say whether we're talking inner or Greater London, or ages, but for arguments sake (and to be more sensationalist) let's say it's the entire population of Greater London. That's 7.5 million people, so 750,000 new businesses - recession? What recession?

Seeing as there are apparently only around two to three million business enterprises registered for VAT in the whole of the UK right now, that's a pretty staggering statistic - especially as only 400,000-ish are in London. Someone should tell the local tax offices - they may need a few new employees. Admittedly this number only covers VAT and/or PAYE payers, but hey - we were only going to spend as long researching this as they did thinking it through before publishing it.

We like TalkTalk here at Broadband Genie. It always has something to say and has been at the forefront of criticising Mandy and his P2P hatchet job, while others have quietly kept their counsel. It also has some mighty fine deals available, and some big plans for this year. However, this isn't the company's finest hour.

Interestingly though, only around 20 per cent thought the internet would have a bigger impact on their lives in 2010. This may send a few panic bells to the likes of BT, Sky and Virgin Media, who are planning all sorts of exciting broadband products such as streaming television services and the like. It also suggests the wealth of research claiming mobile data will hugely leap in the figures this year may be misjudged. Unless of course the one-fifth of us who will be upping our usage will really, really be upping it.

In addition, the research showed 50 per cent of people will try new things online this year: starting with dating, it seems, with five per cent of those asked saying they were 'planning to find a partner' via broadband this year. Nothing quite says "I love you" like "planning to find a partner", don't you think? Ah, the romance. But if you're in that five per cent, good luck!