Digital Britain report formally launched

Digital Britain

The government has launched its Digital Britain report in a wide-ranging document that covers the future of the UK broadband sector, through to broadcasting, regional news, intellectual property, downloading and digital inclusion – even giving new authority to Whitehall chief information officer John Suffolk.

Among the highlights of the report are:

• A reaffirmation of the universal service commitment for broadband to deliver at least 2Mbit/s connectivity to every home by 2012, supported by £200m of public funding;
• A 50p per month levy on all copper fixed lines to help subsidise the rollout of next-generation superfast broadband to the one-third of the country likely to be outside the scope of existing commercial rollout plans;
• 3G mobile licences to be made indefinite, rather than fixed term, to encourage mobile operators to invest in higher speeds and wider coverage;
• New legislation and greater powers for Ofcom to identify and target illegal downloaders;
• Reaffirmation of existing proposals to improve the UK’s IT skills base, from education through to the workforce;
• Plans for a major exercise to test the UK’s ability to respond to a national telecommunications security emergency later this year;
• Confirmation of Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s role to form a panel of experts to advise on better use of public data, and Martha Lane Fox’s appointment as digital inclusion champion;
• A digital switchover plan for all public services, whereby the delivery of universal broadband by 2012 will kick-start a programme to make the internet the primary means of access for public services;
• A move to cloud computing for provision of government IT services, the so-called “G-cloud” project, to deliver a virtual public service network based on Whitehall-wide standards and IT systems;
• The government chief information officer, John Suffolk, to have a “double-lock” on approving all significant IT purchases by Whitehall departments.

The wide-ranging proposals require legislation in some areas, consultation on others, and the formation of several new administrative bodies, but the recommendations will start to be rolled out this year.

“Britain needs to plan for more than recovery from the global downturn. We face changes that are transforming the world in which our businesses and people operate,” said business secretary Lord Mandelson on the foreword to the Digital Britain report.

“The move from analogue to digital technology is one of those revolutionary changes. It will define the competitiveness of our economy and change dramatically the way we lead our lives,” he said.

“The proposals in this report will enhance Britain’s strengths in a crucial sector and harness new technologies to provide a fairer and more prosperous Britain for all.”