DEPARTMENT FOR
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT News Release (106/08) issued by COI News
Distribution Service. 17 October 2008
JOINT DCMS/BERR
PRESS RELEASE
An action plan to secure the UK's place at the forefront of
innovation, investment and quality in the digital and
communications industries will be developed by Stephen Carter, the
first Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting.
Already a major force in the economy, worth over £52 billion a
year, the digital and communication sectors are growing in
significance as the country faces up to current financial and
market challenges. Vital to underpinning global economic activity,
they are critical to every business in our economy, acting both as
a catalyst for creativity and allowing efficiency gains. And they
have a major impact on our culture and quality of life.
Drawing on expertise from across Government, regulators and
industry, Lord Carter's report will be a comprehensive
analysis of our digital economy. Titled 'Digital
Britain', the work has at its core an ambition to accelerate
the rate of growth, and cement the UK's position as a world
leader in the knowledge and learning economy. To achieve this
Stephen Carter will bring forward proposals for both Government
and industry, to support the development of these critical sectors.
Stephen Carter said:
"Communications have been revolutionised in the last 20
years, with consumers and businesses alike embracing the
opportunities and taking advantage of the reality of the new technologies."
He added: "Digital Britain is about capturing the
opportunities on offer for UK PLC and the public, and advancing
our standing as a world leader in these industries.
"Our ambition is to see Digital Britain as the leading major
economy for innovation, investment and quality in the digital and
communications industries. We will seek to bring forward a unified
framework to help maximise the UK's competitive advantage and
the benefits to society."
Stephen Carter's report will take forward and build on the
wide-ranging work from Government, regulators and industry that
already addresses issues around communications and convergence. It
will bring together extensive expert analysis to develop a
strategy for a fully digital Britain.
Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said:
"We need to move quickly if we are to maximise the benefits
of convergence. Over the last year we've worked with experts
to get a clear understanding of the issues to address and
obstacles to overcome if our businesses and citizens are to take
full advantage of technology. Now is the time to move from the
think tank phase to the delivery phase and focus on the actions
needed to bring benefits for both the economy and an enriched
society. This is a change of gear by the Government, and the
Digital Britain Report, led by Stephen, will be a key contribution
to the digital future."
Secretary of State for Business Peter Mandelson said:
"The Government is determined that the UK will strengthen
its place as a word leader in the communications and digital
technology sectors. For the present financial and banking crisis,
Britain must get through the worst and prepare for the upturn. The
digital economy will be central to this. The digital Britain
report will lead the way"
To ensure the UK maximises the benefits of convergence right
across the economy and society, a strategy will be developed to
secure four key conditions: open markets; empowered and informed
consumers and citizens; universal access to public service
content; and a responsive regulatory framework. Priorities in each
of these areas will be:
Open markets providing investment, innovation and choice, at all
levels of the value chain including infrastructure, service
provision and creation of content.
- Broadband Development: examining options for maximising
participation and levels of service across the UK.
- Digital Radio: identifying barriers to wider investment and
development of digital radio platforms, and drawing lessons from
the current digital switchover television programme.
- Investment in Content: exploring business models for content
development in a digital age, and the impact of new media on the
content market.
- Spectrum: identifying the barriers to the release of spectrum
and a fully functioning market in the trading and use of spectrum.
Empowered and informed consumers and citizens fully equipped to
take advantage of the opportunities convergence brings.
- Internet: looking at a range of issues affecting internet
users, such as user security and safety and a workable approach to
promoting content standards.
- Media Literacy and IT skills: identifying inhibitors to IT
take-up and barriers to maximising the economic and social effects
of digital technologies including empowering consumers.
Universal access to high quality, public service content through
appropriate mechanisms for a converged digital age.
- Public Service Broadcasting/Content: evaluating the impact of
digitalisation and the new technologies on public service
broadcasting assets and public service licences, in the UK as a
whole and in the nations and regions.
- Independent Production: examining how to ensure the health of a
vibrant independent production sector, including examining the
impact of the current quota system.
A responsive regulatory framework that maximises investment and
innovation by providing certainty and equipping regulators with
the right tools to achieve their objectives.
- Intellectual property: the DIUS study of copyright will be
important to the Digital Britain report.
The extensive research already carried out by Government and
industry regulator Ofcom will underpin this work. The Digital
Britain report will draw on all the available evidence to develop
a comprehensive action plan. It is clear that for many people
convergence is already a reality and content is increasingly being
accessed through different technologies.
The Digital Britain report will consider what future legislative
and non-legislative measures are required to support the
development of these critical sectors and will be published in
spring 2009.
Notes to Editors
1. The information and communications technologies and
broadcasting together account for 5.9% of GDP, with a turnover of
over £52 billion a year. 500,000 people are employed in these
sectors in the UK.
2. Convergence can be defined as the merging of the individual
communications industries (IT, broadcasting, telecommunications
etc) into a single converged market. The breaking down of the
traditional barriers between technologies has the potential to
alter dramatically the landscape of the relevant sectors and those
who interrelate with them. In practice convergence covers a wide
range of issues, as well as most of the regulatory and legislative
regimes that are currently in place.
3. The Government has already undertaken much important work in
this area, particularly:
* The recently published Caio review on next generation broadband access;
* The Digital Radio Working Group currently scheduled to deliver
a report in December;
* The recent memorandum of understanding to address file sharing
between Internet Service Providers and rights holders;
* The Byron Review on children and new technology leading to the
UK Council for Child Internet Safety;
* The work of the Convergence Think Tank; and
* The Digital Inclusion Action Plan.
4. The new position of Minister for Communications, Technology
and Broadcasting was created by the Prime Minister in recognition
of the important role these sectors play in our economy and our
society. There is no change to the respective responsibilities of
BERR and DCMS in this area. The Minister for Communications,
Technology and Broadcasting is a joint appointment to both BERR
and DCMS and will report to both Secretaries of State.
Public enquiries 020 7211 6200
http://www.culture.gov.uk
2-4 Cockspur Street
London SW1Y 5DH
http://www.culture.gov.uk