[cma-l] Digital Britain DCMS Press Release

[Jaqui Devereux]

Digital Britain – the future of communications

JOINT DCMS/BERR PRESS RELEASE


An action plan to secure the UK’s place at the forefront of innovation, 
investment and quality in the digital and communications industries will 
be developed by Stephen Carter, the first Minister for Communications, 
Technology and Broadcasting.

Already a major force in the economy, worth over £52 billion a year, the 
digital and communication sectors are growing in significance as the 
country faces up to current financial and market challenges. Vital to 
underpinning global economic activity, they are critical to every 
business in our economy, acting both as a catalyst for creativity and 
allowing efficiency gains. And they have a major impact on our culture 
and quality of life.

Drawing on expertise from across Government, regulators and industry, 
Lord Carter’s report will be a comprehensive analysis of our digital 
economy. Titled ‘Digital Britain’, the work has at its core an ambition 
to accelerate the rate of growth, and cement the UK’s position as a 
world leader in the knowledge and learning economy. To achieve this 
Stephen Carter will bring forward proposals for both Government and 
industry, to support the development of these critical sectors.

Stephen Carter said:

“Communications have been revolutionised in the last 20 years, with 
consumers and businesses alike embracing the opportunities and taking 
advantage of the reality of the new technologies.”

He added: “Digital Britain is about capturing the opportunities on offer 
for UK PLC and the public, and advancing our standing as a world leader 
in these industries.

“Our ambition is to see Digital Britain as the leading major economy for 
innovation, investment and quality in the digital and communications 
industries. We will seek to bring forward a unified framework to help 
maximise the UK’s competitive advantage and the benefits to society.”

Stephen Carter’s report will take forward and build on the wide-ranging 
work from Government, regulators and industry that already addresses 
issues around communications and convergence. It will bring together 
extensive expert analysis to develop a strategy for a fully digital Britain.

Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said:

“We need to move quickly if we are to maximise the benefits of 
convergence. Over the last year we’ve worked with experts to get a clear 
understanding of the issues to address and obstacles to overcome if our 
businesses and citizens are to take full advantage of technology. Now is 
the time to move from the think tank phase to the delivery phase and 
focus on the actions needed to bring benefits for both the economy and 
an enriched society. This is a change of gear by the Government, and the 
Digital Britain Report, led by Stephen, will be a key contribution to 
the digital future.”

Secretary of State for Business Peter Mandelson said:
"The Government is determined that the UK will strengthen its place as a 
word leader in the communications and digital technology sectors. For 
the present financial and banking crisis, Britain must get through the 
worst and prepare for the upturn. The digital economy will be central to 
this. The digital Britain report will lead the way"
To  ensure the UK maximises the benefits of convergence right across the 
economy and society, a strategy will be developed to secure four key 
conditions: open markets; empowered and informed consumers and citizens; 
universal access to public service content; and a responsive regulatory 
framework. Priorities in each of these areas will be:

Open markets providing investment, innovation and choice, at all levels 
of the value chain including infrastructure, service provision and 
creation of content.

-	Broadband Development: examining options for maximising participation 
and levels of service across the UK.
-	Digital Radio: identifying barriers to wider investment and 
development of digital radio platforms, and drawing lessons from the 
current digital switchover television programme.
-	Investment in Content: exploring business models for content 
development in a digital age, and the impact of new media on the content 
market.
-	Spectrum: identifying the barriers to the release of spectrum and a 
fully functioning market in the trading and use of spectrum.

Empowered and informed consumers and citizens fully equipped to take 
advantage of the opportunities convergence brings.
-	Internet: looking at a range of issues affecting internet users, such 
as user security and safety and a workable approach to promoting content 
standards.
-	Media Literacy and IT skills: identifying inhibitors to IT take-up and 
barriers to maximising the economic and social effects of digital 
technologies including empowering consumers.

Universal access to high quality, public service content through 
appropriate mechanisms for a converged digital age.
-	Public Service Broadcasting/Content: evaluating the impact of 
digitalisation and the new technologies on public service broadcasting 
assets and public service licences, in the UK as a whole and in the 
nations and regions.
-	Independent Production: examining how to ensure the health of a 
vibrant independent production sector, including examining the impact of 
the current quota system.

A responsive regulatory framework that maximises investment and 
innovation by providing certainty and equipping regulators with the 
right tools to achieve their objectives.
-	Intellectual property: the UK Intellectual Property Office will take 
forward work to deliver a digital copyright framework which supports 
creativity, investment and job creation in these important sectors.

The extensive research already carried out by Government and industry 
regulator Ofcom will underpin this work. The Digital Britain report will 
draw on all the available evidence to develop a comprehensive action 
plan. It is clear that for many people convergence is already a reality 
and content is increasingly being accessed through different technologies.

The Digital Britain report will consider what future legislative and 
non-legislative measures are required to support the development of 
these critical sectors and will be published in spring 2009.


Notes to Editors

1.	The information and communications technologies and broadcasting 
together account for 5.9% of GDP, with a turnover of over £52 billion a 
year. 500,000 people are employed in these sectors in the UK.
2.	Convergence can be defined as the merging of the individual 
communications industries (IT, broadcasting, telecommunications etc) 
into a single converged market. The breaking down of the traditional 
barriers between technologies has the potential to alter dramatically 
the landscape of the relevant sectors and those who interrelate with 
them. In practice convergence covers a wide range of issues, as well as 
most of the regulatory and legislative regimes that are currently in 
place.
3.	The Government has already undertaken much important work in this 
area, particularly:
•	The recently published Caio review on next generation broadband access;
•	The Digital Radio Working Group currently scheduled to deliver a 
report in December;
•	The recent memorandum of understanding to address file sharing between 
Internet Service Providers and rights holders;
•	The Byron Review on children and new technology leading to the UK 
Council for Child Internet Safety;
•	The work of the Convergence Think Tank; and
•	The Digital Inclusion Action Plan.
4.	The new position of Minister for Communications, Technology and 
Broadcasting was created by the Prime Minister in recognition of the 
important role these sectors play in our economy and our society. There 
is no change to the respective responsibilities of BERR and DCMS in this 
area. The Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting is a 
joint appointment to both BERR and DCMS and will report to both 
Secretaries of State.

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