TheDigital Britainreport was a policy document published in 2009, which outlined theUnited KingdomGovernment's strategic vision for ensuring that the country is at the leading edge of the globaldigital economy.
TheDigital Economy Act 2010was one of the outcomes of this policy.
History
editThe UK government announced on 29 January 2009 that it planned to have 100%broadbandcoverage in the UK by 2012, with a minimum speed of 2Mbit/s.Some industry experts, including broadband think tank PointTopic and measurement site SamKnows, claimed that these plans were ill thought out.[1]However, a government-backed forum hoped to address such issues, with a view to succeeding within the 2012 deadline.[2]
Closely based on a 2007 government-commissioned think tank report from The Work Foundation,[3]the final Digital Britain report was released on 16 June 2009,[4]and made a number of recommendations with regard to broadband access,internetuse andpublic service broadcasting.Among these recommendations were:
- Three year plan to boostdigital participation
- Universal access to broadband by 2012
- Fund to invest innext generation broadband
- Digital radioupgrade by 2015
- Liberalisation of3Gspectrum
- Support for public service content partnerships
- Changed role forChannel 4
- Consultation on how to fund local, national andregional news
- A new "more robust system" for theclassification of video games[5]
In August 2009, responsibility for the project was moved toStephen Timms,the Financial Secretary, who was previously the minister responsible fore-commerceand used to work in the telecoms industry. He reported toPeter Mandelson.[6]
Mandelson had been seeking a legal and regulatory attack oncopyright infringementbystatutory instrument.[7]In November 2009 he added these measures into theDigital Economy Bill,but faced objections from leading internet companies.[8]
ThePre-Budget Reportin December 2009 included a new tax of £6 p.a. on home land lines to fund the expansion of broadband.[9]This was included in theMarch 2010 United Kingdom Budget,but dropped from the Finance Bill due to lack of time after the general election was called.[10]In his Budget speech, ChancellorAlistair Darlinghad also announcedtax breaksfor the Britishvideo game industry,and reiterated the Government's target of 90% Broadband coverage by 2017—but omitted to repeat the target of 100% by 2020.[11]
In March 2010 theDepartment for Business, Innovation and Skillsannounced the National Plan for Digital Participation, aiming "to ensure that everyone who wants to be online can get online, do more online and benefit from the advantages of being online."[12]
The Digital Britain report served as a catalyst for a number of later initiatives led by the public and private sectors. In October 2019, theLord Mayor of Londonlaunched "future.now", a consortium of leading companies, education providers, and charities working in collaboration with government to empower everyone to thrive in a digital UK.[13][14]Pre-eminent firms in the digital economy including Accenture, BT Group, Digital British, Deloitte, and Nominet have either directly supported the coalition or made statements in support of improving digital skills for longer term economic benefit.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"UK has 'uphill struggle to 2Mbps'".BBC News Online.26 February 2009.
- ^"Digital Britain".Department for Culture, Media and Sport(UK). 16 June 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-07-07.
- ^"Staying ahead: the economic performance of the UK's creative industries".
- ^"Digital Britain: The Final Report – 16 June 2009".Culture.gov.uk. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-04-20.Retrieved2011-09-14.
- ^"At a glance: Digital Britain".BBC News. 16 June 2009.Retrieved20 June2009.
- ^Timms to lead 'Digital Britain',BBC, 6 August 2009
- ^Mandelson seeks to amend copyright law in new crackdown on filesharing,The Guardian,19 November 2009
- ^Web giants unite against Digital Britain copyright plan,BBC News, 2 December 2009
- ^Broadband tax included in pre-Budget report,BBC News, 9 Dec 2009
- ^Finance Bill carved out in deadline scrambleArchived2010-04-12 at theWayback Machine,Accountancy Age, 7 Apr 2010
- ^Budget 2010: Darling puts emphasis on broadband for all,BBC News, 24 March 2010
- ^"Digital Participation Consortium".Archived fromthe originalon 23 March 2010.Retrieved14 September2011.
- ^"future.now".Retrieved19 October2019.
- ^"Launch of future.now".Retrieved15 October2019.
External links
edit- Digital Britain ForumOfficial discussion and feedback site
- Digital BritainOfficial information and reports
- National Plan for Digital Participation
- Government to look at low-cost ideas to fulfil Digital Britain promise
- Accenture TechnologyAccenture Technology
- BT Group Digital UnitBT Group Digital Unit
- Digital BritishDigital British
- Deloitte Digital TransformationDeloitte Digital Transformation
- Nominet Digital FuturesNominet Digital Futures
- The Archived Digital Britain Website