Everything you wanted to know about today's Digital
Britain report at a glance with live twitter updates and a full
download of the report.
>>
Dowload the full Digital Britain report here <<
The Digital Britain report in an nutshell:
- Universal Service Obligation on telecoms operators to supply
high-speed broadband by 2012
- High-speed broadband to be funded by levy on copper wire
- A 50p levy on telecoms operators, per copper line per month
will fund the roll-out of high-speed broadband to the last third of
consumers and SMEs who do not have access to 2mbps broadband. The
fund will later be used to introduce faster broadband services. The
levy will generate between £150m and £155m a year
- Ambition to develop faster than 2mbps broadband over
time
Piracy
- Piracy for gain is theft and will be pursued through criminal
law
- ISPs will notify content providers of piracy offenders and
disclose their identity
- As an interim step, ISPs may be required to block IP addresses
or restrict bandwidth to offenders
3G mobile licences
- 20-year 3G mobile licences will be extended to last
indefinitely to encourage investment
Radio
- All digital radio service by 2015
- Push for Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide to set up a joint
venture
- BBC's licence fee will be used to fund other broadcasting
activities
- £130m allocated to supporting local and regional news
gathering
Security
- Government will push Get Safe Online security awareness
programme
Computer games
- Government to look at tax relief for games software
developers
Public services
- Public bodies will create content and offer services that will
encourage people to use broadband
- Government CIO will have to approve all major government IT
projects
- Digital Deliver Agency will oversee delivery of Digital
Britain
Research funding
- Government will spend £120m over three years on a Digital
Economy programme. Three research hubs will get £12m each.
- Technology Strategy Board receives £30m. £10m will go on
"digital test beds" - research programmes into digital
technology
Regulation
- Ofcom to be expanded and modernised
Related articles:
Live reaction on Twitter: