Posted: 12th Jan, 2012 By: MarkJ


The
Confederation of British Industry (CBI), a lobbying group for businesses, has released a new report that calls upon the UK government to "
think big" when it publishes its forthcoming
Communications Bill. In particular it wants the government to
expand its current broadband ambitions with a new "
longer-term aspiration" for the
best broadband economy in the world.
The '
Blazing a trail – the UK communications sector in a global economy' report believes that the communications industry should play a key part in
rebalancing the economy, which would require that "
regulation is suitable for a dynamic industry" and
encourage competition. The country's infrastructure must also be able to "
compete on a global stage", it said.
On top of that the CBI wants the government to measure its broadband success by more than "
simplistic download speeds", although in fairness they already plan to do that because the UK is unlikely to win on speed alone;
many EU states are miles ahead of us (e.g. Sweden).
Dr Neil Bentley, CBI Deputy Director-General, said:
"The UK is known around the world for its cultural exports, whether it’s Adele topping the charts in 18 countries around the world, or Downton Abbey being screened in over 200 territories.
But the UK’s communications sector is worth much more than its high profile successes. It has the potential to grow its exports faster than most other sectors over the coming decade, and can therefore play a key role in rebalancing our economy and reducing our reliance on domestic consumption.
That’s why we need the Government to think big in its forthcoming Communications Bill. Our communications sector needs a framework in place that will enable and encourage innovation, with a clear and consistent approach to regulations."
According to the CBI, the UK is already a major global player in the communications sector; this is believed to be worth at least
£50 billion a year to the economy (value terms). The group would also like to see Ofcom promoting the UK communications sector in international markets, which it believes could help to
boost annual exports by more than 8.7% between now and 2020.
The governments Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) office is currently spending
£530m (could rise to £830m by 2017) to help 90% of "
people in each local authority area" gain access to a superfast (
25Mbps+) broadband service by 2015; but the last 10% will have to make do with a minimum of 2Mbps. Many believe that more will be needed to keep us competitive.