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The government has laid out its plans to overhaul the UK’s internet and communications infrastructure, in a bid to make Britain the ‘digital capital of the world.’
The new proposals were detailed this afternoon in a report from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport called ‘Digital Britain,’ penned by communication minister Lord Carter.
The grand strategy behind the document is to get every single person in Britain using the internet, a proposal which the government claims makes moral as well as economic sense, citing a perceived link between what it calls ‘digital exclusion’ and genuine social exclusion.
On a tangible level, what the report appears to be suggesting is a tax on all landlines, which will create a warchest to fund the creation of a faster and more comprehensive internet infrastructure across the country.
To support the government’s aims, Martha Lane Fox has been appointed as ‘champion for digital inclusion’, heading up a task force of ten expert advisors.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in the report: “Only a Digital Britain can unlock the imagination and creativity that will secure for us and our children the highly skilled jobs of the future. Only a Digital Britain will secure the wonders of an information revolution that could transform every part of our lives. Only a Digital Britain will enable us to demonstrate the vision and dynamism that we have to shape the future.”
It was also revealed that Ofcom is to be given more regulatory powers to help curb illegal file sharing.
To read the full Digital Britain report, head to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s website.
