Section Menu

Telecommunications - Broadband

Raising productivity is seen as one of the foremost challenges to improving the UK’s economic performance. There are a number of mechanisms for doing this and the innovative use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) is one of them. The department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform remains committed to working to create the conditions for business success through competitive and flexible markets that create value for businesses, consumers and employees.

Businesses in the UK are deploying ICT more pervasively and innovatively than ever before. We now see employees on the move quite at ease accessing their company network through remote connections, and more broadly, businesses are ever more integrated in their exchange of product, schedule and financial information.

Broadband is a technology that enables both businesses and the public to access a wide variety of new ICT services. This suite of technologies offers the potential to transform the development and use of ICT applications and services.

Prices for broadband have fallen and speeds have increased and this has led to there being over 14 million broadband connections in the UK (June 2007). The UK enjoys one of the most extensive broadband networks in the world, with over 99% of households able to receive broadband. There is no room for complacency in an ever more competitive global environment and the UK Government recognises the importance of the telecommunications infrastructure.

For this reason the Government has engaged in a process of consultation with public and private sectors to determine how and when Next Generation access to broadband can be delivered in the UK. BERR is supporting work being carried out by the Broadband Stakeholder Group to consider the public value of broadband; commercial investment models; appropriate regulation and efficient use of public investment.

The government also recognises the potential for digital technologies to transform the way we live and work and also their potential for disrupting adopted behaviours. We must respond to these challenges of increasing global competition by transforming our own services and raising our skill levels. That is why the Government has set out long term service transformation plans and is investing in technology to transform learning, to bring opportunity and experience of ICT to all school pupils and their families. These programmes and other complementary initiatives provide the backbone for the Government's digital strategy.

You can find out more about these initiatives on the following web pages:

http://www.cio.gov.uk/transformational_government/index.asp and
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/e-strategy/exec.shtml

This following site provides information about how to make the most of broadband: BERR Case Studies

Public Broadband Schemes - A Best Practice Guide: February 2007

This collaborative guidance from DTI (BERR) and Ofcom is designed to help those responsible for making decisions about public investment in broadband schemes, setting out the factors that are to be considered before determining whether to use public monies to intervene in the broadband market.

You can view the frequently asked questions at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/mofaq/telecoms/pbs/