USA - FCC Chairman calls for Gigabit broadband speeds in all states by 2015

C¦net reports the FCC Chairman calling for much faster broadband.

The Federal Communications Commission's chairman, Julius Genachowski, wants to see gigabit speed broadband services in all 50 states by 2015. At a meeting of U.S. mayors in Washington, D.C., today, Genachowski called on municipal leaders and service providers to deploy gigabit speed broadband in at least one community in each of the 50 states in the next two to three years. Genachowski said that by participating in the "Gigabit City Challenge" communities would turn themselves into innovation hubs that would create valuable jobs for its citizens.

He was quoted as saying:

American economic history teaches a clear lesson about infrastructure. If we build it, innovation will come. The U.S. needs a critical mass of gigabit communities nationwide so that innovators can develop next-generation applications and services that will drive economic growth and global competitiveness.

See also the text of his speech.

UK - Think tank argues for a switch away from speed targets to helping those not online

The Policy Exchange has published a report The Superfast and the Furious: Priorities for the future of UK broadband policy that argues:

that politicians have become overly focused on broadband speeds. The internet is central to modern life, and next generation fixed and mobile broadband are unquestionably vitally important for the economy. But the case for spending any more taxpayers' money to subsidise very fast connectivity is weak.

The report suggests an end to government subsidies for broadband infrastructure once current commitments are reached in 2015. Instead the government should focus on helping the 10.8 million people not online - half of whom are over 65 - and do more to help small businesses make the most of the opportunities presented by the internet.

Chris Yiu, author of the report:

"Successive governments have been right to invest public money in basic broadband connectivity. The government's current spending plans will extend fast broadband to the vast majority of people. Any further public money should be spent on making sure we are putting this to good use. It's far from clear that your taxes should help to pay for me to have an even faster connection.

There is no doubt that broadband, both fixed and wireless, makes a major contribution to the economy. But the right person to decide how much speed your family or business needs is you – not the government.

UK - Teenagers without web access are 'educationally disadvantaged'

Wired reports that teenagers without web access are 'educationally disadvantaged'.

Interviews with students revealed a range of problems faced by those without internet access. Some have to ask friends or family to print off coursework and physically post it to them, while others are only able to do their work during school hours so have to rush everything. The same tools that helped students with homework were also social tools, like MSN Messenger, so students who felt left out educationally were also likely to feel left out socially.

The benefits of having web tools available were found to outweigh the risks. Interestingly, in their interviews with 200 of the teenagers the researchers found that there was no perception that web use was impairing their ability to concentrate on work. That was in direct contrast to the experience of parents, who frequently "despaired" at the sight of their kids multitasking on multiple devices and using social networks they didn't understand.

This was based on a study from Oxford University's Department of Education (see press release).

Scotland - Conference paper on broadband in rural Scotland identifying the challenges

A conference paper by Jason Whalley and Ewan Sutherland on Rural Broadband in Scotland – Challenges for Scotland and Lessons for Other Countries

There are many socio-economic benefits associated with the provision and use of broadband services. Arguably these are greatest for those living and working in rural areas, as broadband contributes to the ‘death of distance’. This paper focuses on the provision of broadband in rural Scotland, and analyses the initiatives that have been undertaken to encourage broadband availability to identify a series of challenges that need to be overcome. One challenge highlighted is the need to coordinate across the complex institutional landscape that has emerged in broadband provision in rural Scotland, while a second is the relative lack of resources that are available. A third is the focus on availability at the expense of encouraging adoption. These challenges provide lessons for other countries.

UK - CBI is positive on broadband infrastructure improvements, but mobile broadband still behind other countries

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and KPMG published Better connected, Better business: CBI/KPMG infrastructure survey 2012.

John Cridland wrote:

As technology continues to improve, it is vital that we go further on broadband speed and coverage, providing faster and more reliable web access to companies that rely on it as their gateway to new markets

However, on the quality of infrastructure:

Companies are positive about the current state of digital networks: four in five (82%) report that they have improved over the last five years and a similar proportion (79%) believe that they will continue to improve over the next five years

But more businesses believe that mobile broadband networks in the UK are below average than above it for both speed and breadth of coverage.

The quality of broadband infrastructure is particularly important for the smallest firms who rely on internet communications to reach their customers and suppliers in the absence of extensive operational networks and multiple business premises. Over half (53%) of respondents from companies employing fewer than 50 people state that it has a very significant impact on their investment decisions, compared with 30% of those from companies employing over 5,000 people.

OECD - overview of existing data and statistics in the fields of information security, privacy and the protection of children online

The OECD Published Improving the Evidence Base for Information Security and Privacy Policies: Understanding the Opportunities and Challenges related to Measuring Information Security, Privacy and the Protection of Children Online:

This report provides an overview of existing data and statistics in the fields of information security, privacy and the protection of children online. It highlights the potential for the development of better indicators in these respective fields showing in particular that there is an underexploited wealth of empirical data that, if mined and made comparable, will enrich the current evidence base for policy making. Such indicators would help identify areas where policy interventions are most clearly warranted, and can provide guidance on designing policy interventions and determining their effectiveness.

Scotland - A presentation on telecommunications in an independent Scotland

Slides from a presentation on telecommunications in potentially independent Scotland.