I was all set to write a scathing piece about Lord Carter’s newly published Digital Britain report (http://tinyurl.com/ksp9t7) when, in a break with journalistic practice, I decided to read it first. In fact many of its proposals make sense.
For instance I now accept the case for the controversial 50p-a-month tax on phone lines in order to subsidise broadband provision in remote parts of the country. I also like the report’s plans for expanding 3G coverage, and the idea of handing over FM frequencies to new, ultra-local radio stations. I do just wish it had considered one or two bigger bets, even if only to reject them — such as the advantages to be gained by spending one or two billion pounds to give Britain a nationwide, Korean-style next-generation broadband network when compared to the localised benefits expected from costlier projects like Crossrail.
Any other quibbles? Well, in discussing ultra-fast broadband, the report mostly concerns itself with increasing download speeds, even though many significant new technologies such as video-conferencing really depend on faster uploads.
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