Let’s get digital!

Thursday 29 January

The government’s proposed that the whole of Britain could be Broadband-ready by 2012

So, according to the Carter Report, the government wants every household in Britain to have broadband access by 2012. Sounds good to us. Just in time to turn on our computers and stream live action of Britain spectacularly failing to record any gold medals at our own Olympics!

That’s not all Lord Carter had to say, though. In his report outlining his recommendations for “Digital Britain” he also suggested that DAB will become a “primary distribution network” that could sound the death knell for AM and FM. Now, forgive me for sounding a bit patronizing, but isn’t that what everyone in the technology sector’s known for years? Okay, recent figures of DAB radio sales in 2008 did show a negative growth, but I’d attribute that more to the economic climate than anything else.

It’s good to know, though, that even in these tough financial climes, we’re still maintaining our stiff upper lips with an ambitious proposal such as this. If the government pulls it off, we’ll be leading the way in the digital switch over. And that, ultimately can’t be a bad thing for us or the economy.