With just over 20 days to go until the next General Election, the main political parties have now published their manifestos and whilst the result is still up for grabs it looks like policy on digital connectivity is pretty settled.
The second Lloyds Bank Business Digital Index was launched last week in association with management consultancy Accenture. Its headline finding was that for SMEs and charities, there is a “slow and not universal move to becoming more digital???. The report found that attitudes and awareness are the biggest barriers to greater digital adoption, confirming the findings of the BSG micro-business survey conducted last year.
The main motivations for people to connect to the internet are: shopping (the UK ranks first in the EU for E-commerce), finding a job, connecting socially, and engaging with Government services… so nothing too important then!
The ever increasing importance of the internet – and the increasing cost, either to the individual or the State, of being offline has led to an expectation that everybody is or should be online. However, a research report recently published by Plum Consulting (and commissioned by EE) estimates that around 7.4 million people are still offline. 86% of which are aged over 55.
It is hard to overestimate the importance of digital connectivity in today’s society. Expectations of users – be they citizens, consumers, businesses or Government itself – are increasing as the cycle of the extraordinary becoming the ordinary speeds up. Whether it’s the commuter watching iPlayer on the train, a farmer uploading cattle movement forms, or architects storing large files in the cloud, we increasingly expect to do what we want at a time and a place of our choosing. This pull factor is matched by the increasing necessity of users to be online – from small businesses filing VAT receipts, to the discounts available online, to the increasing digitalisation of Government. In order to fulfil our potential as the world’s most advanced digital economy we will have to deliver fast, reliable broadband at near universal levels.
The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) today announced that all of the UK’s leading Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have now signed up to a voluntary Code of Practice in support of the Open Internet.
Today the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), launches the results of a detailed survey into the internet usage of 1000 micro-businesses (those with between 0-9 employees). The survey finds that although 87% of micro-businesses have an internet connection, older businesses – those in operation for more than five years – are less likely to be taking full advantage of the internet in growing their business. (more…)
The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) will launch the results of a survey into the internet usage of 1000 micro-businesses at an event on the 17 November.
Details:
Monday, 17 November 1400-1600
techUK, 10 St Bride St, London EC4A 4AD
To register please email: events@broadbanduk.org
Although assertions are often made in the public domain about the bandwidth demands of
SMEs, our Capitalising on Connectivity report exposed a gap in the evidence base on SME internet usage as whole.
We committed to add to this evidence base and the BSG commissioned Comres, the leading market research company, to undertake a telephone based study focusing of 1000 micro-businesses, which make up 95% of all businesses in the UK and account for over 30% of turnover. In addition to data around take-up of superfast broadband products the survey also looks at the use of certain broadband-enabled services and the reasons the businesses do, and do not, utilise them.
Comres, who conducted telephone interviews with companies over the summer, will present their findings before a panel discussion involving operators and other stakeholders on how well understood micro-businesses’ demand for digital connectivity is and how it may change in the future.
This will be followed by a panel discussion chaired by Richard Hooper CBE, which will include representatives from BT, TalkTalk and the CBI.
There will also be a drinks reception afterwards.
The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) will launch a report into out-of-home internet usage at a ‘Future Demand for Data and Bandwidth’ event on the 10 November. (more…)
The BSG is currently recruiting for a new Policy Manager. For full details please see the full advert on the techUK website.
The Government this week launched a renewed push to raise awareness of the benefits of superfast broadband and the voucher scheme that is available to help businesses boost their digital connectivity.
The BSG is currently recruiting for a new CEO. For full details on the role and how to apply please see the full advert on the techUK website.
Pamela Learmonth, who has been at the BSG for over six years – the last two as CEO, has decided to pursue a new challenge in the life sciences sector.
The BSG is currently recruiting for a new Policy Manager. For full details please see the full advert on the techUK website.
Our current Policy Manager, Charlotte Holloway, will be taking on a newly created role with our partners at techUK as Head of Policy at the beginning of March.
2014 promises much for those in the broadband industry, and it’s all eyes to the policy sphere to help smooth the way for rollout and take-up of connectivity to realise the social and economic gains for the UK.
The first quarter of 2014 alone promises much in the way of further detail on the Government’s Digital Communications Infrastructure Strategy, the £250m BDUK superfast extension programme and the £10m innovation fund. From DCMS, we can also expect the publication of the Spectrum Strategy, and from the GDS team in the Cabinet Office the forthcoming Digital Inclusion Strategy can be expected to have reverberations across government. In UK Parliament, the Consumer Rights Bill has been introduced and the Intellectual Property Bill is progressing, currently at amendments stage. In Europe, all eyes to Commissioner Kroes as the Connected Continent package has a limited amount of time to pass before election season. (more…)
Richard Hooper CBE has been appointed as the new non-executive Chairman of the Broadband Stakeholder Group, taking over from Kip Meek.
Richard Hooper has had a long career in the converging worlds of media and communications. He has worked in both broadcasting and telecoms and was Chairman of the Radio Authority and Deputy Chairman of Ofcom 2002-2005. Most recently he led the Independent Review of the Postal Services Sector. (more…)
In a previous post I explored what the topics of discussion would be at the government’s Convergence Think Tank, and suggested that next generation access (NGA) would probably be a key secondary issue to public service broadcasting (PSB).
At the seminar yesterday, NGA was indeed discussed. It was interesting to see, particularly for someone fairly new to the debate, the level of interest and desire for NGA among the broadcasting world.
This isn’t surprising, of course, as it opens up a lot of avenues for them, but I was struck by one presenter’s firm conclusion that the PSB debate was the wrong focus for the future of the industry, and that superfast broadband was the most important next step. His view wasn’t necessarily shared by all in the room, but he wasn’t the only presenter to mention the importance of NGA.
Broadcasters aren’t the only industry who see benefit in NGA, and are clamouring for greater bandwidth. A key issue, though, is how will it be paid for. There is demand from industries and consumers, but is there a willingness to pay? This is a big question, and currently there is little hard evidence for investors to go on that suggest a return for their money would be likely.
The BSG’s ongoing research into the economic and social value of NGA has drawn on emerging evidence from the US, where Verizon have subscribers paying a premium for faster access over fibre. But until more is known about consumer willingness to pay, the business case for NGA will be difficult to make.
Peter Shearman, Policy Manager, BSG
