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Public intervention 'could help push for next generation broadband'
Wednesday 28th January 2009, by Daniel King
The British public could play a major part in leading the country towards the development of next-generation broadband, it has been claimed.
Kip Meek, chair of the Broadband Stakeholder Group, noted that there had been "very little" discussion concerning the role consumers could have in high-speed services investment.
Speaking at the Joint Westminster eForum and Westminster Media Forum keynote seminar: Digital Britain, Mr Meek also raised the question of whether the government should put forward investment to help establish faster broadband.
The seminar - which took place in London - discussed a number of key elements regarding the plans for a digital Britain, including the impact of convergence on businesses and consumers.
Mr Meek suggested that the government could seek to take its lead from Australia in the extension of superfast broadband for all by putting forward significant public investment.
Australian ministers proposed a total of A $5 billion (£2.3 billion) worth of taxpayers' money into the development of fibre-optic broadband in the country, and Mr Meek questioned whether British government could adopt a similar approach.
However, he claimed that more could also be done to assess the role that broadband users and the British people themselves could take in helping to push the plans forward.
"I think there is very little forum for debate at this point that public intervention has a role in leading us towards the next generation of broadband and the extension of the current generation of broadband," Mr Meek commented.
This comes after the Open Rights Groups also called for consumers to play a part in internet content regulation, suggesting that "the best way to regulate content" is to rely on users themselves.
Categories: Broadband
