This post looks at the response to the Digital Britain Report, as well as asking how this effects us in our region. Hull Digital was interviewed on the BBC Radio Humberside breakfast show which you can listen to below:

Earlier in the week, the final Digital Britain report was released to an expectant Great Britain. It has generated a huge amount of coverage, which unsurprisingly, is very mixed. Rory Cellan Jones from the bbc (http://twitter.com/ruskin147) has posted on the their technology blog here, and has attracted a huge number of comments, universally negative towards the Government’s report.

What really stood out was this:

This morning, as he visited the Crystal Palace digital television transmitter, the Prime Minister made an extraordinary promise. Just hours before the publication of Digital Britain, he said this:

“Britain’s going to lead the world. This is us taking the next step into the future, being the digital capital of the world, making the necessary investment.”

This is categorically a BLATANT lie and more evidence that this report is woefully inadequate and 10 years too late. How we (the UK) can expect to be the “digital capital of the world” with the target of 2mb broadband is not only misguided, but frankly, plain rude, arrogant and misjudged.

Do they, the Government, really think that the UK population are that stupid to believe this?

Adam Westbrook, a local media journalism commentator and reporter summed it up very well on his recent post here:

The Promise: 2Mbps broadband for everyone (and “action separately to address the issue of next generation broadband”)

Result?: epic fail. While broadband for everyone is great, 2Mbps [...buffering...] broadband is inadequate for [...buffering...] the growing needs of digital journalism including [...buffering...] the huge demand for [...buffering...] video on demand. Separate action to [...buffering...] investigate faster broadband looks like [...buffering...] the buck being well and truly passed.

With the icing on the cake being that we, the public are being asked to fund this next generation broadband with a £6 per year tax levy. The £6 amount is neither here or there, but it is the fundamental principle that WE are being asked to pay for something that Governments should have done 10 years ago.

Finances, the jaw dropping truth

It has been estimated that it would cost around £27bn to install fibre country-wide. That you might say is a whole lot of cash.

But, to put this in perspective, we spend around £1bn per year just in Iraq.

Yes, £27bn is a big figure, but surely, a necessary one? Just think of the business benefits that it would bring? Anyway, as mentioned before,  4 words come to mind. Too little, too late.

So what do the Digital Britain measures include?

• A three-year National Plan to improve Digital Participation
• Universal Access to today’s broadband services by 2012
• Next Generation fund for investment in tomorrow’s broadband services
• Digital radio upgrade by the end of 2015
• mobile spectrum liberalisation, enhancing 3G coverage and accelerating Next Generation mobile services
• robust legal and regulatory framework to combat Digital Piracy
• support for public service content partnerships
• a revised digital remit for Channel 4
• consultation on funding options for national, regional and local news

There are lots of worthwhile areas of focus here, but it still comes back to what the vast majority of people relate to, and that is broadband speed.

How does this effect us here in Hull?

The simple answer is that we just don’t know yet. There are many questions to be asked, one being do we need to pay the £6 tax / levy for NGN (next generation network) investment? Being in a unique, and frankly, very unpopular positon here in Hull, with our local ISP / teleco, Kingston Communications / Karoo there would need to be written and concrete assurance that something was also being done here to catapult us onto NGNs.

What is certain that with Digital Region and NYnet, there is an understanding that something MUST change and soon.

It is also hugely encouraging that there seems to be a real groundswell in feeling, people-power, and concern in the area, with Hull Digital and Humber Mud starting to become noticed, and actively participating with the Council and Hull Forward to ensure that we are not left behind.

Your say

The Digital Britain report is a cornerstone in our future, not only personally but also for business.

We want to hear your views, not only about our region and how the report effects us, but what you think about the country, and is it enough?

What is certain, it remains very controversial, and it is clear that Gordon Brown is still using a 56K modem.

Click here and the relevant section is about half way down the page.

On Thursday afternoon, we headed over to the Yorkshire Forward Digital Britain Launch event, held at The Met Hotel in Leeds. There was an excellent turn out, with people from all manner of creative and digital industries, including a number of Hull Digital members.

After an introduction from Stuart MacFarlane, Sector Manager, Digital and New Media, Yorkshire Forward, he introduced Samuel Sharp, the Director of the Digital Britain report who has worked alongside Lord Carter. He provided an overview of what has been done, the main areas of focus, and the report findings and thoughts so far. He did seem to gloss over the much-maligned 2mb broadband target, although made it very clear that this was more of a “floor” and not a ceiling. This is far from clear in the report, and he did mention the initiatives on the US, Australia and Korea, but not giving them more than a passing few words. This is worrying, as if they can do it, so should we.

Robert Ling, the Business Improvement Manager from YF then gave an excellent presentation about what was happening in the local region, and this actually proved more interesting to us than the UK-wide actual report. It was a real eye opener to see that there was plenty happening in the Yorkshire region, and all of it, very, very promising.

Big News for South Yorkshire:

SOUTH YORKSHIRE PIONEERS ‘SUPER-FAST
BROADBAND’ WITH MULTIMILLION POUND PROJECT

Following the Government’s 2009 budget statement to confirm approval for Digital
Region, Digital Region Ltd today announces the roll-out of ‘Super-fast Broadband’
across South Yorkshire, putting the South Yorkshire region at the forefront of the digital
communications agenda and marking a significant change in communications
technology for Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.

This is stunning news for South Yorkshire, and the actual press release is available here > click.

‘Super-fast Broadband’ will provide a high-speed, open-access infrastructure, offering
25mb or above of guaranteed bandwidth and quality of service to the majority of homes
and businesses in South Yorkshire, reaching 1.2 million people. The provision of this
level of broadband service will transform the region, creating inward economic and social
investment to bridge the growing digital divide.

The approval of the Digital Region has been critical to this success, and Robert alluded to the 4 years of work which have enabled them to get this success. What is the “Digital Region though”?

The project has the potential to become the largest open-access broadband infrastructure platform in the world and will enable a multitude of advanced applications at home, in business and across the public sector, transforming communications, entertainment and business activities across the region.

DRL is wholly owned by Yorkshire Forward and the four local authorities of South Yorkshire. Following a full European Union procurement exercise, Thales Transport and Security Limited (Thales) has been appointed to deliver and manage the fibre-optic cable infrastructure on behalf of DRL. Thales leads a consortium that includes Alcatel-Lucent and KCOM.

The DRL Network is offering 25mb+ of bandwidth which is both guaranteed and can be delivered with a range definable Quality of Service attributes. In simple terms, this means the end user gets ‘what they pay for’; if the end user requires 10mb they receive a guaranteed 10mb; if they want 5mb or 25mb this is guaranteed. Some services require more than just high-speed connections: this is true of live entertainment such as sports, and critical services such as aspects of tele-medicine. The DRL Network can configure specific connections with Quality of Service attributes that allow these services to be delivered in a seamless way to the end consumer – so no stop-starting or picture-jitter for example when watching a live football match.

As well as this news, Robert also covered NYnet, a “Broadband Transformation for North Yorkshire”.

What is NYnet?

NYnet is a public and private sector commercial venture created in order to provide a communications network that is capable of delivering multiple high quality services to citizens, business and public sector bodies. The lead role is taken by North Yorkshire County Council with support from Yorkshire Forward and Government Office Yorkshire and Humber. Our private sector technology partner is BT who will work with NYnet to deliver, monitor and maintain the network to the highest standards.

So, from a UK perspective, the Digital Britain report is on track, after the release of the Interim report, and they are receiving feedback. Having spoken to a number of people, it seems like the Yorkshire region has been the only region to hold an event to collate feedback, which is good for us, but poor overall.

What really stood out was the South Yorkshire success and Nynet. Leaving Hull, well and truly left in the middle of two areas who are accelerating away in terms of development and future vision. This was immediately clear to us, and has left many questions for the future. We cannot afford to be left behind and we must not be left behind.

Finally, here are two clips from the London Digital Britain Meeting:

On a lighter note, and not lost in it’s irony, was the Wireless charges from the Met Hotel – good grief, they should be paying the digital infrastructure of the region!