It's Tuesday. It's sunny outside. So I'm holed up in a room watching a House of Commons speech on the BBC iPlayer. Why? Because culture secretary Ben Bradshaw is going to be unveiling the UK government's Digital Britain report at 3.30pm. Stick around for all the details.3.29: It's the tail-end of a justice debate, so just a primer on what we're expecting. The report covers a wide range of digital and broadcasting issues, but two are of particular focus for the music industry: online piracy, and broadband access.On the former, we're expecting the announcement of a Digital Rights agency to tackle internet piracy, working with ISPs and rights-owners. ISPs may have new responsibilities to warn and/or punish persistent file-sharers, but the government is expected to stop short of a three-strikes policy to actually cut their internet access off.3.34: We're off! Four broad themes: getting the right infrastructure is the first one – digital communications infrastructure is as important as rail and roads.3.35: Reaffirming commitment to universal internet access, but also important to invest in “next-generation fixed broadband”, bolstering private investments so far. “Left to the market, true superfast broadband will only reach two thirds of homes and businesses in the [...]
The full article is available to our subscribers only.
If you're a subscriber, you can login here
You can subscribe here (where there are options for monthly, twice-yearly, annual and trial subscriptions)
