Comments for Digital Britain report http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report Comment on the final Digital Britain report Tue, 12 Oct 2010 13:46:20 +0000 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 Comment on Public funding for competitive provision of essential public content by Gordon Sonny Dixon http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/public-service-content-in-digital-britain/public-funding-for-competitive-provision-of-essential-public-content/comment-page-1/#comment-56 Gordon Sonny Dixon Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:48:22 +0000 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/?p=262#comment-56 I have been paying Virgin Media for my broadband and telephone line for the last 5 years. The cost of digging up the road and laying fibre optic cables I obviously have been paying for it.I doin't see why I should have to pay for someone else's telephone cable, after all we in the South West have been paying nearly double the water rates than anyone else due to our large coast line. If it's tough luck for living here it's tough luck for the people who havn't got broadband as far as I am conserned I have been paying Virgin Media for my broadband and telephone line for the last 5 years. The cost of digging up the road and laying fibre optic cables I obviously have been paying for it.I doin’t see why I should have to pay for someone else’s telephone cable, after all we in the South West have been paying nearly double the water rates than anyone else due to our large coast line. If it’s tough luck for living here it’s tough luck for the people who havn’t got broadband as far as I am conserned

]]> Comment on Radio by D. W. Hall http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/executive-summary/radio/comment-page-1/#comment-55 D. W. Hall Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:16:22 +0000 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/?p=64#comment-55 Radio. para 38 last sentence is not a supportable statement. the quality of DAB is inferior to FM. The effect oof change particularly on the automotive industry, where it will be neccessary to introduce a UK-specific range of radios, perhaps dual channel will be uncompetitive. The provision of portable radios in the memory-stick size will be extremely difficult and battery-power inefficient. The requirement to scrap several 100s of millions of perfectly useable existing radios will create a further waste disposal problem. The £20 radio if achieved, will almost certainly be manufactured overseas with no benefit whatsoever to UK industry. Para 41 seems to suggest that FM will continue locally, and radios with FM capability will still be required. This seems to imply either dual band or multiple receivers, not just a new £20 item. Radio. para 38 last sentence is not a supportable statement. the quality of DAB is inferior to FM. The effect oof change particularly on the automotive industry, where it will be neccessary to introduce a UK-specific range of radios, perhaps dual channel will be uncompetitive. The provision of portable radios in the memory-stick size will be extremely difficult and battery-power inefficient. The requirement to scrap several 100s of millions of perfectly useable existing radios will create a further waste disposal problem.
The £20 radio if achieved, will almost certainly be manufactured overseas with no benefit whatsoever to UK industry.
Para 41 seems to suggest that FM will continue locally, and radios with FM capability will still be required. This seems to imply either dual band or multiple receivers, not just a new £20 item.

]]> Comment on The importance of radio by Kevin Fulcher http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/radio-going-digital/the-importance-of-radio/comment-page-1/#comment-51 Kevin Fulcher Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:31:22 +0000 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/?p=193#comment-51 Living as I do, in Kent, 35 miles from Westminster as the radio wave travels, we have no DAB reception, as a neighbour of mine recently discovered when his son bought him a DAB radio, only to receive 'The Sound of Silence.' About half of our village population of 6500 people have no Freeview coverage either, a fact frequently commented on on the village forum. DAB is an inferior mode of transmission to FM; both the frequency range and the dynamic range are considerably less than that of FM, and are further restricted when the channel is used for extra coverage of, eg major sporting events. All of which will make listening to concerts on Radio 3 less of a realistic and pleasurable experience than on high quality FM stereo equipment. Which I have invested a lot of money in! The environmental problem of disposal of millions of redundant radios has not been considered; I find no mention of it in the report. It is, of course, all about selling off the spectrum; no other considerations will outweigh the governments desperate need to try and offset the billions of debt that they have run us into. Living as I do, in Kent, 35 miles from Westminster as the radio wave travels, we have no DAB reception, as a neighbour of mine recently discovered when his son bought him a DAB radio, only to receive ‘The Sound of Silence.’ About half of our village population of 6500 people have no Freeview coverage either, a fact frequently commented on on the village forum.
DAB is an inferior mode of transmission to FM; both the frequency range and the dynamic range are considerably less than that of FM, and are further restricted when the channel is used for extra coverage of, eg major sporting events. All of which will make listening to concerts on Radio 3 less of a realistic and pleasurable experience than on high quality FM stereo equipment.
Which I have invested a lot of money in!

The environmental problem of disposal of millions of redundant radios has not been considered; I find no mention of it in the report.
It is, of course, all about selling off the spectrum; no other considerations will outweigh the governments desperate need to try and offset the billions of debt that they have run us into.

]]> Comment on Content and services on the dedicated digital platform by m burgess http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/radio-going-digital/content-and-services-on-the-dedicated-digital-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-50 m burgess Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:43:25 +0000 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/?p=204#comment-50 How on Earth with the huge government-sponsored campaign about reducing carbon footprints can it force 60million people to use a technology that's over 4x as energy hungry (it looks like 20x if the playtime provided on wind-up radios is considered)...Then there's disposal of all those millions of good analogue radios, production of all the new digital ones, the extra heavy metal pollutants from the extra batteries etc etc...looks like green credentials, democracy and affordability again sinking beneath business motives... How on Earth with the huge government-sponsored campaign about reducing carbon footprints can it force 60million people to use a technology that’s over 4x as energy hungry (it looks like 20x if the playtime provided on wind-up radios is considered)…Then there’s disposal of all those millions of good analogue radios, production of all the new digital ones, the extra heavy metal pollutants from the extra batteries etc etc…looks like green credentials, democracy and affordability again sinking beneath business motives…

]]> Comment on A dedicated digital platform for radio by Dave Birchall http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/radio-going-digital/a-dedicated-digital-platform-for-radio/comment-page-1/#comment-42 Dave Birchall Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:26:40 +0000 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/?p=198#comment-42 I was an early user of DAB radio when it became available. The quality at first was fine. However, later on, commercial greed resulted in reduced bandwidth and inferior quality. I therefore converted back to FM. I would be very unhappy if expected to pay out yet more money for a "new improved" DAB standard. FM suits me fine, thank you very much! I was an early user of DAB radio when it became available. The quality at first was fine. However, later on, commercial greed resulted in reduced bandwidth and inferior quality. I therefore converted back to FM. I would be very unhappy if expected to pay out yet more money for a “new improved” DAB standard.
FM suits me fine, thank you very much!

]]> Comment on A dedicated digital platform for radio by Roger Mitchell http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/radio-going-digital/a-dedicated-digital-platform-for-radio/comment-page-1/#comment-41 Roger Mitchell Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:06:37 +0000 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/?p=198#comment-41 The FM switch off will mean the end of quality broadcasting on Radio 3. Digital is not in the same league as FM for music reproduction. FM must be retained. The FM switch off will mean the end of quality broadcasting on Radio 3. Digital is not in the same league as FM for music reproduction. FM must be retained.

]]> Comment on Public funding for competitive provision of essential public content by Stuart http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/public-service-content-in-digital-britain/public-funding-for-competitive-provision-of-essential-public-content/comment-page-1/#comment-39 Stuart Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:22:13 +0000 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/?p=262#comment-39 I made a mistake on my last post where i said that Microsoft are selling Windows 7 for £50 during July. I made a mistake on my last post where i said that Microsoft are selling Windows 7 for £50 during July.

]]> Comment on Public funding for competitive provision of essential public content by Stuart http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/public-service-content-in-digital-britain/public-funding-for-competitive-provision-of-essential-public-content/comment-page-1/#comment-38 Stuart Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:19:34 +0000 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/?p=262#comment-38 Goodness me, where do i start? It's not enough that this government has used up the country's wealth in order to prop up the banks and their dishonest endeavours, now they're taxing us so they can fund the telecommunications market to upgrade the infrastructure for improved online access. There's something really wrong here. Why should the public be held responsible for this infrastructure change when there are millions of home users that pay subscription fee's for internet access? Perhaps the CEO's of these companies should consider taking wage cuts in order to support the upgrade, and, shouldn't there be enough in profits being made to be able to improve the infrastructure without an extra tax being burdened on us? As for the issue on online piracy, has no one in the government or the EU ever thought that if the music, movie and game industries dropped there prices that it would attract more custom? Piracy exists because prices of the products from the entertainment industries are so high. Some of the most popular games in the market from last year can be had at bargain prices ranging from £5 - £15. And when they hit those prices they fly off the shelves. As a result of those statistics what do you think the industries do? They up the price. Microsoft are one of the worst companies to do this. It will have been 2 years since the release of Vista by the time they release Windows 7 and, after reading the latest issue of Computeractive, Microsoft has announced that you can buy Windows 7 at the bargain price of £15 as long as you pre-order in July. After this you'll have to pay £149 for it. So, do Microsoft think that they'll make more sales at £50 or £149? If only they would look at selling the new windows package at around £80 then the sales should increase, if only for the short term. As for the music industry, they make billions of pounds each year from music sales and if they think for a second that the vast majority of people around the globe will believe that piracy is making any significant impact on their costs, then they're as dumb as their wallets are fat. Apple had the right idea with Itunes where you can buy latest release singles from as little as 79p and albums from a fiver. However, they cocked it all up a bit when they limited the amount of computers you could use your Ipod on with Itunes to 1. The movie industry has to seriously up it's game as at the moment, a lot of HD films are being released that are remastered rubbish. And are films really worth as much as £20 per film for HD? The games industry should really consider it's options also. With price tags as high as £50 it will be one of the first industries to be cut down until the big names like EA, Blizzard, Sony, Valve and Microsoft develop games in house. If all these industries cut out the middle men in the high street and started selling their products on the internet and reduced it's prices it would be more attractive to consumers and that would cut piracy by quite a fair amount. The problem with the world today is that the governments and conglomerates of the world believe that the general public needs to change. Maybe they should start thinking that they themselves need to change. Goodness me, where do i start?
It’s not enough that this government has used up the country’s wealth in order to prop up the banks and their dishonest endeavours, now they’re taxing us so they can fund the telecommunications market to upgrade the infrastructure for improved online access.
There’s something really wrong here.
Why should the public be held responsible for this infrastructure change when there are millions of home users that pay subscription fee’s for internet access?
Perhaps the CEO’s of these companies should consider taking wage cuts in order to support the upgrade, and, shouldn’t there be enough in profits being made to be able to improve the infrastructure without an extra tax being burdened on us?
As for the issue on online piracy, has no one in the government or the EU ever thought that if the music, movie and game industries dropped there prices that it would attract more custom?
Piracy exists because prices of the products from the entertainment industries are so high.
Some of the most popular games in the market from last year can be had at bargain prices ranging from £5 - £15. And when they hit those prices they fly off the shelves.
As a result of those statistics what do you think the industries do?
They up the price.
Microsoft are one of the worst companies to do this.
It will have been 2 years since the release of Vista by the time they release Windows 7 and, after reading the latest issue of Computeractive, Microsoft has announced that you can buy Windows 7 at the bargain price of £15 as long as you pre-order in July. After this you’ll have to pay £149 for it.
So, do Microsoft think that they’ll make more sales at £50 or £149?
If only they would look at selling the new windows package at around £80 then the sales should increase, if only for the short term.
As for the music industry, they make billions of pounds each year from music sales and if they think for a second that the vast majority of people around the globe will believe that piracy is making any significant impact on their costs, then they’re as dumb as their wallets are fat.
Apple had the right idea with Itunes where you can buy latest release singles from as little as 79p and albums from a fiver. However, they cocked it all up a bit when they limited the amount of computers you could use your Ipod on with Itunes to 1.
The movie industry has to seriously up it’s game as at the moment, a lot of HD films are being released that are remastered rubbish. And are films really worth as much as £20 per film for HD?
The games industry should really consider it’s options also. With price tags as high as £50 it will be one of the first industries to be cut down until the big names like EA, Blizzard, Sony, Valve and Microsoft develop games in house.
If all these industries cut out the middle men in the high street and started selling their products on the internet and reduced it’s prices it would be more attractive to consumers and that would cut piracy by quite a fair amount.
The problem with the world today is that the governments and conglomerates of the world believe that the general public needs to change. Maybe they should start thinking that they themselves need to change.

]]> Comment on Public funding for competitive provision of essential public content by Section 2: Funding options – a contestable element of the Television licence fee | Sustainable independent and impartial news http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/public-service-content-in-digital-britain/public-funding-for-competitive-provision-of-essential-public-content/comment-page-1/#comment-32 Section 2: Funding options – a contestable element of the Television licence fee | Sustainable independent and impartial news Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:14:29 +0000 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/?p=262#comment-32 [...] independent of the overall level at which the Television Licence Fee is set. [WTR: see the section Public funding for competitive provision of essential public content in the Digital Britain Report.] [...] [...] independent of the overall level at which the Television Licence Fee is set. [WTR: see the section Public funding for competitive provision of essential public content in the Digital Britain Report.] [...]

]]> Comment on Radio by Christopher Kirton http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/executive-summary/radio/comment-page-1/#comment-28 Christopher Kirton Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:37:05 +0000 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/?p=64#comment-28 With reference to the proposals on radio, I am disturbed by the recommendation that AM/FM should be switched off in 2015. Features and sound quality may be good on DAB radios, but they are seriously flawed at present beacuse of their expense and their huge use of battery power when not connected to the mains. The report refers to 9 million DAB sets being in use already. Maybe, but I would guess that there are over 100 million analogue radios in households, cars, mobile phones, workplaces etc etc. To suggest that these should all be replaced in a six-year period without energy-efficient, cheap sets being readily available in the near future is reckless. The expense; the waste; the excessive energy use; the vaste increase in use of heavy metals caused by much shorter battery lives; and the unwelcome imposition of apparently unnecessary obligations on us all is highly irresponsible. With reference to the proposals on radio, I am disturbed by the recommendation that AM/FM should be switched off in 2015. Features and sound quality may be good on DAB radios, but they are seriously flawed at present beacuse of their expense and their huge use of battery power when not connected to the mains. The report refers to 9 million DAB sets being in use already. Maybe, but I would guess that there are over 100 million analogue radios in households, cars, mobile phones, workplaces etc etc. To suggest that these should all be replaced in a six-year period without energy-efficient, cheap sets being readily available in the near future is reckless. The expense; the waste; the excessive energy use; the vaste increase in use of heavy metals caused by much shorter battery lives; and the unwelcome imposition of apparently unnecessary obligations on us all is highly irresponsible.

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