Attacking the recession

Getting up to speed

In anticipation of Lord Carter's Digital Britain report, we've published a policy briefing - 'Getting up to speed' - which calls for decisive action to help attack the recession in the long term.

We believe that next-generation, super-fast broadband will be a vital part of the emerging digital economy’s infrastructure, enabling dramatic improvements in connectivity and offering new possibilities for businesses, public services and local communities.

By calling for this change now, we believe that the UK will emerge from the recession in far better shape for coping with future challenges from other emerging digital economies.  It also makes economic sense - we estimate that the provision of universal super-fast broadband could directly create 600,000 new ICT jobs, with £18 billion added to GDP.

The indirect effects could be far larger. California is an economy approximately the size of the UK – it has been estimated that ultra-fast broadband installation there could add $366 billion to economic output and create two million new jobs.

But how do we pay for this super-fast broadband infrastructure?
Ofcom, the communications regulator, should use its powers to provide radio spectrum access rights to communications companies in return for installing a fibre-optic broadband network: a ‘spectrum for speed’ swap.

As part of this deal, broadband providers should also be required to deliver free, basic broadband services to the most deprived households in the UK.

Together, this approach will ensure that the UK is more connected, has better, more relevant skills and is at better equipped to exploit the opportunities and face the challenges of the global digital economy.

Will we talk about anything else in 2009?

As we move into 2009, it is clear that the recession will dominate political discussions across most policy areas. Apart from debates about how the UK drives forward economic growth, politicians are looking for ideas on how to deliver increased demands on public services at a lower cost, how to deal with the social impact of a recession, and how the downturn will impact on the green agenda.

One of the first tests of the debate will come when the government decides on whether and how to support the UK's car industry. Will it focus on ensuring its survival, look for ways to help drive its growth or just leave the industry to the fate of the market? And if it does pump money into the sector, where will the money come from - borrowing, or money that was previously designated to drive innovation across other sectors of the economy?