Group insists all consumers must benefit from Digital Britain vision

Digital Britain needs fibre investment stimulation - now

Advisory body the Communications Consumer Panel (CCP) today issued its official response to the government's Digital Britain plan, calling for immediate action to stimulate investment in next-generation broadband.

CCP chair Anna Bradley said research by the panel had shown that soon broadband will be essential for everyone, so "government needs to press on with plans to implement its universal broadband commitment".

Bradley said action to stimulate investment in next-generation broadband is needed now because "the market will only rollout to around two-thirds of the population and the rest should not be left behind".

The CCP welcomed the government's decision to set up a consortium to promote digital participation and support it with funding for the next three years, but Bradley argued that it is vital that the consortium’s planned social marketing programme "be linked to the delivery of services at community-level that are tailored to the needs of those groups of people that need most help – the six million people at risk of both social and digital exclusion".

The Digital Britain report was released in June, but its author, Lord Carter of Barnes, resigned as communications minister soon after. He was replaced by treasury minister Stephen Timms, who is now in charge of implementing the report's recommendations by 2012

In other Digital Britain-related news, communications regulator Ofcom has appointed Hyacinth ‘H’ Nwana as its new partner in charge of spectrum.

Nwana comes from broadcast transmission specialist Arqiva, and will now be at the sharp end of policy on radio spectrum.