The Ofcom Consumer
Panel has called on policy-makers to tackle the
digital divide by thinking about how to give consumers excluded
from first generation broadband the potential to leapfrog straight
to
next generation access.
Anna Bradley, Consumer Panel chair, said, "We already know that
the economic case for next generation access will not stack up in
some areas, and we can predict which areas that will be. So let's
address these issues alongside commercial roll-out, not after
it."
Regulator Ofcom says next generation broadband will deliver
access speeds of up to 100mbps, and support new services and
products across the UK that will bring huge benefits to consumers
and citizens.
In a report entitled
What is the value of next generation broadband?", the Ofcom
Consumer Panel sets out a recommendations for helping to ensure
that all consumers benefit and without deepening the existing
digital divide .
The Consumer Panel recommends a mapping to show the likely
geographic patterns of exclusion that could follow from different
roll-out models, and work to identify the costs and benefits of
tackling the issues that are identified.
"If we are imaginative and use a mix of private and public
business models, we could provide a way for consumers who are
excluded from first generation broadband to leapfrog straight to
the next generation," Bradley said.
The Ofcom Consumer Panel believes that the delivery of public
services has the potential to change radically in a next generation
broadband world.
The panel would like to see policy-makers looking at the
potential for savings by using fast broadband to deliver to those
who are otherwise difficult to reach.
The panel points to such things as NHS telemedicine, the
delivery of specialist services from a central hub for disabled
consumers, and the provision of education for marginalised
communities.
"The UK is making some critical decisions about the delivery of
next generation broadband in the UK. Consumers and citizens stand
to gain a great deal, but the decisions need to be informed by a
proper sense of the value next generation networks can deliver, not
just to companies and consumers, but to the economy and society as
a whole," said Bradley.