Strategy
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.
