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Landmark report provides step-by-step guide to becoming the most active broadband market in the G7, and calls on Government to champion change

Since November last year, Broadband take up has increased by 300%; retail ADSL prices have dropped by more than 30%; and coverage has increased by 7 percentage points with broadband services now available to 67% of the UK’s 24 million households.

19 November 2002

The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), the government’s key advisory group on broadband, today unveils its eagerly awaited second annual report on the development of Broadband Britain. “The UK now has a tremendous opportunity to build on the 300% growth achieved over the last eleven months, and deliver on the promise of Broadband Britain.” said Keith Todd, Chairman of the BSG.

The BSG has set two main priorities for 2003:

• Accelerating broadband take-up – In the year ahead Broadband needs to become a ‘must-have’ service for consumers, business and Government. The BSG calls on Government and service providers to continue their aggressive promotion of Broadband focusing on marketing the benefits to users. The Government can also play a key role as a purchaser of broadband access, content, applications and services, for improved health, education and other public services. The BSG will continue to research the way Broadband is changing and influencing online behaviour.
• Extending broadband coverage and increasing competition – The report focuses on the importance of wireless broadband services and shared civil infrastructure as two key enablers for increasing coverage and competition. Wireless technologies have the ability to cost-effectively extend coverage to new areas, as well as opening the market to new service providers. The BSG calls on Government to prioritise the allocation of appropriate spectrum and set out a strategic plan for wireless broadband services.

Additionally, the BSG argues that the Government enables third party provision of civil infrastructure (ducts, buildings etc) to be shared by operators on a non-discriminatory basis. This would reduce the cost burden faced by operators, allowing them to extend/upgrade their networks more cost effectively, bringing further stimulus to the broadband marketplace.

Speaking at today’s E-Summit, Keith Todd, Chairman of the Broadband Stakeholder Group, said: “Broadband is central to the UK e-government agenda. Broadband is poised to have a radical effect on society and business. Our report will help policymakers turn theory into reality – and take Britain forward on its broadband journey.”

“We’ve made good progress this year,” added Antony Walker, CEO, Broadband Stakeholder Group. “We’ve now got to focus on driving more volume into the broadband market and really demonstrate the demand for bandwidth. This will be essential for securing long-term capital investment for the future. On the demand side, online education should be exploited as a major driver of adoption – as we have seen in Korea the classroom can be a springboard for mass adoption of broadband.”

The Broadband Stakeholder Group was established in April 2001 to advise the Government on its strategy for achieving its 2005 goal. The recommendations of its first report, published in November 2001, were almost entirely accepted and are now being implemented – the Government acknowledged that there was no ‘silver bullet’ to speed up broadband adoption. The BSG strategy is based on a ‘virtuous circle’ model of adoption, whereby a critical mass of early adopters and market makers fuel mainstream development and adoption of broadband services. Today’s report builds on these recommendations and is expected to take a leading role in shaping Government broadband policy.

BSG Second Annual Report and Strategic Recommendations

BSG Second Annual Report: Wireless

BSG Second Annual Report: Devolved Administrations

Key Metrics Annex

BSG Second Annual Report and Strategic Recommendations

BSG Second Annual Wireless Report

BSG Second Annual Report: Devolved Administrations

Key Metrics Annex

26 June 2002

“The UK is finally turning the corner on broadband services, but we have to up the pace,” said Keith Todd, Chairman of the Broadband Stakeholder Group

The BSG’s mid year report, published today reveals that:

• There are over 600,000 broadband subscribers, 64% of the population is within reach of a wired broadband connection and over 20,000 broadband customers are being added each week.
• After a slow start, the UK is making progress. The last six months has seen significant improvements in terms of pricing, products and promotion, which have been reflected in the increased take-up.
• However, the UK has some way to go to catch up with the lead group of broadband economies and the adoption rate will have to accelerate further if the UK is to claim a position of leadership in the G7. The contrast in terms of availability of services between rural and urban areas is a cause for serious concern.

“We set out on the broadband service journey later than the lead countries but we are now very much on our way, ” said Todd. “This is a journey similar to the microprocessor journey of the past 25 years. All stakeholders must play their part in continually developing and enhancing the user experience being offered at affordable prices”.

There is a lack of detailed information about the exact geographic reach of current broadband services in the UK. With assistance from the Office of the e-Envoy the BSG will develop a detailed map, which will colour code broadband availability across the UK.

The report sets out four critical path action areas for the successful deployment of broadband services:

1. It challenges all stakeholders to agree the conditions precedent to the Broadband services journey.
2. It sets out action areas to ‘nurture the market’ by creating the conditions to encourage competition and sustain market growth (green & white areas). Stating clearly that the new OFCOM will have a pivotal role in creating the right environment. ‘OFCOM will be all about broadband services’.
3. It identifies some innovative solutions to encourage the deployment of competitive services where there is potential for their deployment (Grey areas) and seeks further views on other potential solutions.
4. It challenges government to develop a plan, with the assistance of the BSG, for areas that the market will not reach (red areas).

This reports sets out the BSG’s latest thinking and activities with the aim provoking further contributions in the run up to the second full BSG report to be published in November. The BSG is seeking views from all stakeholders so that it can provide further input to the government on how to accelerate the rollout and take-up Broadband services.

Keith Todd the Chairman of the BSG said: “We are on our way on the ‘Broadband Journey’ with one million broadband service users in sight by the end of the year. The ‘action areas’ are clear but all stakeholders must work vigorously to ensure that the objectives are met. If all stakeholders adopt a ‘Killer attitude’ we will succeed.”

Stephen Timms, the e-Commerce Minister, said: “The Broadband Stakeholder Group has already made important contributions to Government policy and decisions. The advice and expertise which the provides are invaluable and I would to thank Keith Todd and the Stakeholder Group for this new drive they have brought to the Broadband journey.”

Full BSG Interim Report 2002

Report Annex

BSG Chairman’s Presentation at Network Telecoms Europe 2002

Joint DTI and Broadband Stakeholder Group Press Release

11 February 2002

E-Commerce Minister Douglas Alexander and the BSG today announced the appointment of former ICL chief executive Keith Todd as chairman of the Government’s key advisory committee on broadband (high-speed, always-on internet access), the Broadband Stakeholders Group (BSG).

The Government’s comprehensive Broadband Strategy, published in December last year, drew heavily on the Broadband Stakeholder Group’s first report and recommendations.

The Government will continue to draw on the front line experience and expertise of Stakeholder group members in developing future Government policy, and the appointment of Mr Todd marks the next stage in the group’s development.

Mr Todd has twenty-five year’s experience in the ICT industry. He will take up the role with immediate effect.

Mr Todd will take forward a new programme of work, focusing on broadband end-users. The new work streams within the Stakeholder Group will concentrate specifically on:

• Broadband Promotion / Marketing
• Broadband for Education
• Broadband Content
• Regulatory Framework
• Strategy Implementation

E-Commerce Minister Douglas Alexander said:

“I am pleased to announce the appointment of Keith Todd as the first independent Chairman. He brings with him a wealth of experience in the fast moving world of technology, and I greatly look forward to working with him.

“Broadband allows the user to interact with and view online material, which integrates not just text and graphics, but audio and video too. And like the Internet – though unlike broadcast television and radio – you can access exactly what you want, when you want. For businesses it can make the difference between costly software licenses and upgrades and economical downloads of the very latest technologies.

Mr Todd said:

“I am honoured to have been offered this important job, which I was happy to accept. The Government has signalled that it is committed to Broadband because of its importance to the UK economy.

“I look forward to leading the BSG’s work in monitoring and supporting implementation of the Government’s Broadband strategy and in particular helping to identify ways to accelerate the adoption of Broadband services by business and consumers, across the country.”

Ben Verwaayen, Chief Executive BT Group said:

” We are delighted that the work of the Broadband Stakeholders Group will be taken forward under the leadership of Keith Todd. We believe that, by working together, the stakeholders can dramatically transform the UK broadband services market.”

Adam Singer, CEO of Telewest said:

“We are very pleased that Keith Todd has agreed to chair the BSG. His experience at a senior level in the industry coupled with his independence from the key players will be extremely valuable.”

Stephen Carter, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of ntl Group Ltd, said:

“ntl supports the ongoing work of the Broadband Stakeholders’ Group and is delighted that Keith Todd has agreed to take the chairman’s role. The UK must continue to develop a vigorous and focused broadband strategy, and we believe the BSG, acting as a ‘critical, knowledgeable friend’ to the Government, can help to achieve this.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Broadband Stakeholder Group was established in 2001 to advise the Government in the development of strategies to accelerate broadband access and coverage in the UK. The Federation of the Electronics Industry is a leading BSG Member. Other members include representatives of key broadband companies and consumer groups.

Keith Todd is currently the Chairman of his own consulting company, Knotty Green Consulting, and non-executive director of the IT services company ECSoft. From 1996 to 200 he was CEO of ICL plc, overseeing its transformation from a computer manufacturer to a global IT services company. He has held a number of other senior executive positions with Marconi, ICL and Cincinnati Electronics. He has held positions on the boards of Camelot, the Open University Council, the CBI Presidents committee and the Government’s Information Age Partnership. He is a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Open University in 1999.

http://www.dti.gov.uk/