Author - bsg

BSG Chairman Kip Meek yesterday spoke at the CMA Annual Conference on the topic ‘The New Digital Division – Is Britain Lagging Behind?’

Full speech

I saw an interesting article in The Times yesterday. Space Data, an American firm, has started attaching mini telephone masts to the weather balloons it launches in order to provide wireless broadband to rural and remote areas.

The service has been running successfully for four years, and is expected to become profitable this year. They are looking to expand, having patented its services in 41 countries, and the UK is a market they are looking at.

Space Data estimate that there is potentially a $10bn market in rural Internet access that is largely untapped by traditional Internet service providers.

Aside from the ingenuity of the idea, this model is another example of how fluid and rapidly changing the broadband marketplace is. In the UK recently H2O announced that they would be running fibre through the sewers in some parts of the UK. In other countries, utility companies have been involved in laying fibre networks and providing wholesale access to service providers.

In this constantly evolving market new entrants are emerging, new models are being developed and new services are becoming available. The emerging landscape is difficult to predict, and it will be interesting to see what part weather balloons, sewers, and other as yet unknown concepts play in the development of NGA in the UK.

Peter Shearman, Policy Manager, BSG

Today the government announced its plan to establish an independent review on high-speed broadband as part of its creative economy programme.

Commenting on the announcement Kip Meek, Chairman of the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) said, ‘This is the right announcement at the right time. The BSG has stressed the importance of building an evidence base that permits more informed decision-making on the various policy, commercial and regulatory issues. The review addresses some of the BSG’s central concerns about next generation broadband and we’ll be fully engaged to support its work.’

In April last year the BSG set out nine recommendations for action in its Pipe Dreams report on prospects for next generation broadband . The review picks up on several of those recommendations and will help to identify the potential policy options available to government to enable investment in next generation broadband.

In parallel to the questions to be addressed in the review, the government has asked the BSG to examine the economics of fibre deployment and specifically whether deployment of fibre to the premises will be viable without a first step of deploying fibre to the cabinet. Meanwhile, the BSG will engage closely with the review and ensure that it is fully informed by its existing and planned work on issues such as the economic and social value of next generation broadband and potential models for public sector intervention to support broadband deployment.

“There are several positive signs that the UK’s transition to next generation broadband is underway . However the scale of investment required is an order of magnitude greater than the investment that enabled the shift from narrowband to broadband. Government must play its part in creating the right framework to enable timely and efficient investment???, said Meek.

BSG comments on new government review on Next Generation Broadband – full press release

BSG report – ‘Pipe Dreams? Prospects for Next Generation Broadband deployment’

The 9pm watershed has long been the bastion of parental control when viewing content: if it was on after the watershed, then it probably wasn’t suitable for younger viewers (or those with a nervous or squeamish disposition, or the easily offended).

In a converged world, however, content provision is no longer just the preserve of television. A range of suppliers now provides content over the Internet, and on mobile phones. Further, this content is often on-demand (as are new TV services), being viewable at all times of the day.

So, how to identify what is appropriate content to view? If it is no longer as simple as a watershed, information about the content needs to be provided to viewers so that they can make an informed choice. This is particularly important for protecting children from potentially harmful content.

This is why the BSG coordinated the production of Good Practice Principles for the provision of information about commercially created content. The work drew on all existing practices to bring together the underlying principles.

The launch of these principles this week showed the commitment of the industry to ensuring information about content is appropriately provided. Good content information will help consumers, particularly parents, make informed choices for themselves and their families.

The BSG will review the impact and effectiveness of the principles in 2009. For more information regarding the principles, see www.audiovisualcontent.org

Peter Shearman, Policy Manager, BSG

Today the UK’s major content providers launch a set of good practice principles for the provision of information about audiovisual content to consumers.

In a fast changing media world, research shows that consumers, particularly parents, want clear information about the content they and their children can view or access, whether it is online, on a mobile phone or on television. Building on existing good practice, these principles promote common sense, simplicity and transparency to ensure that all users are empowered to make safe and informed choices about commercially provided content.

The principles relate to content that may be unsuitable for children and young people or which some members of the public may find offensive. While the format of the information provided may vary from platform to platform, content providers are committed to ensuring that it is easy to use and understand, enables the user to make informed choices, uses plain and consistent language and is practical for the medium in which it is made available.

Content providers have worked together for the last year to develop these common good practice principles. Facilitated by the Broadband Stakeholder Group, the government’s advisory body on broadband, today’s signatories to the principles include:

• AOL
• BBC
• Bebo
• BT
• Channel 4
• Five
• Google
• ITV
• Microsoft
• Mobile Broadband Group (represents Orange, O2, 3, T-Mobile, Vodafone and Virgin Mobile)
• Teacher’s TV
• Virgin Media
• Yahoo!
• ATVOD (Association for Television on Demand)
• BBFC (British Board of Film Classification)
• FOSI (Family Online Safety Institute)

Ed Richards, Chief Executive of Ofcom responded to the launch of the principles, stating: “Ofcom is pleased that the industry has come together to address the challenge of providing consumers with content information which is appropriate for the evolving media landscape. Research has shown that people want clear and consistent information about content and we think that these good practice principles represent a positive step forward.???

Antony Walker, CEO of the Broadband Stakeholder Group says: “Consumers want clear information to help them make more informed choices. These principles set out the underlying approach that content providers are taking so that consumers get the information they need, and in a way that makes sense to them across different media platforms. We hope today’s launch will encourage other players in the audiovisual industry to sign up to this important cross-industry initiative.

“These landmark principles demonstrate that as audiovisual content continues to evolve, content providers are committed to working together to promote and enable media literacy. The principles will be reviewed in 2009 by the BSG to assess their impact and effectiveness.???

BSG content providers make new media literacy commitment – full press release

Audiovisual Content Information – Good Practice Principles

Visit www.audiovisualcontent.org for more information.

In December, BBC News asked its reader to contribute to a debate on the future of broadband in the UK. A variety of responses were received, and BSG CEO Antony Walker was invited to write an article addressing the issues raised.

The BSG response addressed the top four issues that were highlighted by the debate.

• Universal access and the digital divide
• Quality of service and broadband marketing
• The need and demand for greater bandwidth
• Who should pay for improvements to the network

View article

Recently a colleague and I joined a UK delegation to visit a fibre to the home network built in the town of Nuenen in the Netherlands by a broadband cooperative. The network has connected almost the entire town of 8,500 households, and provides a 100mbps service. Close to 90% of the households are signed up and paying for the service. A full report on the project will soon be available on the BSG website (www.broadbanduk.org), but for now I’d like to talk about what Nuenen means for the UK.

Although it is unlikely that the Nuenen model can be replicated in the UK (as it involved a significant government subsidy and made use of the affluent, technology-literate make-up of Nuenen’s population), Nuenen could still have a significant impact in the UK as a source of inspiration to other towns and cities with similar aims.

On our visit were a delegation from Walsall, along with representatives from Wolverhampton, Ashford and Anglia. It is unlikely that any of these areas will have the same characteristics that allowed the Nuenen project to flourish. But some on the trip will have begun to think about what a fibre network could do for their community, both socially and economically. Residents and local businesses have begun to use the network in a variety of ways that begin to highlight the economic and social benefits that such an NGA network can bring. Those behind the Nuenen project demonstrate how, with strong local leadership, such a project can be possible.

Nuenen has received six such delegations to date, four of which are from the UK. According to them, they could receive a delegation a week if they had the time, such is the interest in the project. In the UK we have the Digital Region project in South Yorkshire, which is local authority led. Will we see community-led NGA projects in the UK? Time will tell, but Nuenen is certainly food for thought.

Peter Shearman, Policy Manager, BSG

The Broadband Stakeholder Group, supported by SEEDA, has appointed Analysys to undertake research into efficient and effective models for public sector intervention in the deployment of NGA in the UK.

The research has been commissioned in line with Recommendation 7 in the BSG’s ‘Pipe Dreams?’ report, which suggested further work to build on the DTI/Ofcom Best Practice Guide of February 2007 in order to equip all stakeholders with the right information to address any market failures as and when NGA is deployed in the UK.

The research will seek to address the following questions.

• Why might some form of public sector intervention be necessary in some areas?
• What local conditions might mean such interventions are likely to be required?
• What form of interventions might be most appropriate?
• How should such interventions be structured and funded?
• What should be the criteria for deciding whether public sector intervention should be considered in a particular area?

The final report will be published in Q2 2008.

H2O

BSG CEO Antony Walker recently spoke at a UK-Japan Symposium on ‘Superfast Broadband’.

Addressing the topic ‘Should next generation access be ubiquitous across the UK and how far is the market likely to deliver?’ the presentation concluded that it was too soon to tell how far the market will deliver.

With regard to ubiquity, more information is required about the economic and social value of NGA before an informed debate about the need for ubiquitous NGA can be held. The BSG is working on a framework for estimating the economic and social value of NGA in order to further understanding on this issue.

The event was attended by a variety of industry and public sector representatives, as well as a Japanese ministerial delegation.

BSG CEO presentation at UK-Japan Symposium

The government

BSG Chairman Kip Meek and CEO Antony Walker both spoke at the recent Oxford Media Convention, held at the Said Business School, Oxford University.

On a panel discussing ‘Public value: Broadening the debate’, Kip was joined by fellow panellists Helen Milner of UK Online Centres, Stewart Purvis of Ofcom, and Chris Woolard of the BBC Trust. Damian Tambini, of the London School of Economics, chaired the panel.

Fellow panellists Andrew Heaney of the Carphone Warehouse, and Bill Thompson of Digital Planet joined Antony in a discussion around ‘Who pays? Funding the next generation network’. The session was chaired by Emily Bell of the Guardian.

Following an EU procurement process, Thales, along with bid partners Alcatel Lucent and Kingston Communication, have been chosen as the preferred bidder to deliver the Digital Region project, which will provide a next generation access network to approximately 600,000 homes across South Yorkshire.

Four local authorities in the South Yorkshire area have put the Digital Region project together. The key aim is to create an infrastructure for the region that will spur economic regeneration, offering high bandwidth broadband that will encourage knowledge-based business to the region and provide the opportunity for business located in the region to offer new services and enter new markets. The project, it is hoped, will also partially address the digital divide in the region: only around 20% of households have taken up a broadband service.

Industry, government and regional development agencies are watching this project with interest. Current debate around if, how and when the public sector should intervene in the investment in next generation access technologies has yet to provide a clear consensus amongst stakeholders. The outcome of this project will go some way to clarifying this debate, and providing experience to inform models for possible further public sector interventions elsewhere in the UK.

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