The government has announced a raft of new measures that aim to boost the digital economy by placing technological innovation at the heart of future governance. The prime minister, Gordon Brown, said, "I want Britain to be the world leader in the digital economy which will create over a quarter of a million skilled
IT jobs
by 2020."
Some of the key plans include:
- Broadband access for throughout the UK
- The creation of a MyGov portal allowing individuals to personalise their access to public servicess
- The creation of the Institute of Web Science
- An online inventory of all non-personal datasets held by departments which will be minable for information by developers and businesses
- A Number 10 iPhone application providing users with news, video and audio
The PM said in a recent speech that for Britain to continue to be a world leader in the digital economy, every citizen should have broadband internet access, although he did not go so far as to define a minimum speed.
Brown said that the MyGov web portal would seek to provide everyone with a dashboard for public services. "It marks the end of the one-size-fits-all, man-from-the-ministry-knows-best approach to public services," he said.
The plans rely on the use of open source technology, allowing access to a plethora of developers and businesses, and mitigating the need for large-scale changes to government IT infrastructure, and are backed by £30 million of new funding.
Brown compared the second wave of superfast broadband to the advent of electricity and claimed that Labour were investing in digital infrastructure to ensure it was available to 90% of the public. He did not set a date, but has previously said a 50Mbps network will be available by 2017, partly paid for by the new 50p tax on phonelines.
Further links:
- Digital Britain
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