UK News

from The Great Debate UK:

Dear Prime Minister – leave tech spending alone

-Steve Ranger is the editor of silicon.com. The opinions expressed are his own. Join Reuters for a live discussion with guests as Chancellor George Osborne makes  an emergency budget statement at 12:30 p.m. British time on Tuesday, June 22, 2010. -

There has never been a more important time for chief information officers to raise their profiles and make their worth clear - especially in the public sector, where over the next few years budgets will be under attack like never before.

We were particularly pleased that in this year’s silicon.com CIO50, an annual programme which celebrates the best technology chiefs in the UK, we saw more CIOs voting, and more CIOs being nominated to date.

This year's winner was John Suffolk, the UK government CIO, who is in charge of setting the technology strategy for the entire public sector.

IT spending has been one of the first victims of the new government's belt-tightening, with the coalition already having identified hundreds of millions in potential cuts from IT budgets across Whitehall, and put in place an immediate freeze on any new IT projects worth more than 1 million pounds.

The thinking probably runs something like this: government IT projects have had a tremendous track record of running late and over budget, and the last thing the UK needs now is more extremely expensive digital white elephants.

from The Great Debate UK:

Tackling digital copyright theft

-Lavinia Carey is Chair of the Alliance Against IP Theft, and Director General of the British Video Association. The opinions expressed are her own. -

The proposals contained within the much anticipated Digital Economy Bill have prompted lively debate among politicians, industry and consumer groups. Unfortunately, some have characterised the debate as industry versus consumer, when in fact both industry and the consumer have an interest in reducing copyright theft.

The proposals will benefit millions of people, and significant consensus exists about the need to tackle the issue by first warning and ultimately taking action against those who distribute other people’s content online without permission.

Whilst some have criticised the Government’s proposals on temporary broadband account suspension this is one of a number of potential measures, implemented only after due process and a robust appeals process, which may be used as a last resort against those who have ignored multiple warnings and continue to persist in illegal file-sharing. Research also shows the important role the existence of such a deterrent has to play in changing people’s behaviour.

Equally, most parents would surely welcome a warning that alerted them to the fact that the activities of their children were exposing the whole family to security breaches. That is what happens when people file-share – the software they download to access illicit music or film files, for example, also provides access to other users to all the files on their computer, some of which may contain very personal and private information and it’s a great propagator of malware and viruses.

Many internet users find broadband speeds unsatisfactory, particularly during the heaviest use of bandwidth by file-sharers between the hours of 6pm and midnight, so consumers who use legitimate services will probably welcome the fall in illegal traffic, which significantly contributes towards congestion on the networks.

Those who rely on the creative economy for their livelihood, including musicians, directors, software developers, lighting and camera operators, make-up artists, costumiers, designers, producers, grips, writers and sound engineers to name just a few deserve to have their creativity protected. They are consumers too. If they are not properly rewarded for their work, our creative economy will suffer. This is not something our country can afford to risk. This is one of the fastest growing industries in the UK, 8 percent of GDP, and in many parts of the sector we justifiably lead the world.

Do you object to your money going to private broadcasters?

It has been suggested that the BBC could be forced to give up some of its income from the licence fee to help fund regional news on commercial broadcasters such as ITV which are struggling during the downturn.

The suggestion was included in a government-backed report called Digital Britain which is aimed at helping those broadcasters such as ITV which have been hit by the fall in advertising.

The government believes there should be several suppliers of regional news, not just the BBC, and has suggested giving some money from the home of Eastenders to any organisation willing to make regional news for commercial groups.

The money would come from a section of the licence fee that was used for helping with the switchover from analogue to digital TV and that has not been spent.

If approved, the move would mark the first time in nearly 90 years that the BBC has been forced to share some of its 3.6 billion pound budget. But the corporation is likely to fight the suggestion.

Would you object to suggestions that money you have paid being given to other broadcasters or do you think the BBC should accept it needs to help out at a time when commercial groups are in dire need?

Is Britain being too slow in promoting broadband?

A new report from Ofcom, reveals that more than 30 percent of homes in Britain don’t have basic broadband service.

The study will become part of the government’s Digital Britain report, which is intended to help keep the UK economically and culturally competitive by promoting broadband access.

“We hope the research will help assist an informed debate on the options available to society to help ensure that the social and economic benefits of the Internet are spread as widely as possible,” the media regulator said in a statement.

“The inclusion of everyone into the digital world has emerged as an important principle in our society.”

The research identified three main groups:

- Those intending to get the internet in the next six months: Two in 10 people currently without the internet said they were likely to get connected in the next six months. They are more likely to be younger, regular internet users outside of the home who are working and have children.

- The self-excluded: 42 percent state lack of interest or need as their main reason for not wanting to take up the internet. The self-excluded tend to be older and retired and 61 percent have never used a computer. This group shares a sense of indifference, with many struggling to come up with any reasons why they should have the internet at home.