Deborah D. McAdams / 08.01.2012 12:39AM
Eliminate Broadcasting, Put Content Online, Says U.K.’s House of Lords
Recommendation part of National Broadband Plan
LONDON: U.S.
broadcasters are not alone when it comes to facing displacement by wireless
services. The United Kingdom’s House of Lords this week recommended eliminating
broadcast television there in order to dedicate that spectrum to broadband.
“We recommend that the government, Ofcom and the
industry begin to consider the desirability of the transfer of terrestrial
broadcast content from spectrum to the Internet and the consequent switching
off of broadcast transmission over spectrum, and in particular what the
consequences of this might be and how we ought to begin to prepare.” That would
be recommendation
No. 275 in the report, “Broadband for All—An Alternative Vision.”
The gist of the report says the U.K. government should focus on creating a
“future-proof” national broadband network versus its current preoccupation with
speed. It recommends creating a system of open access, fiber-optic hubs “within
reach of every community.” It was proffered by the Communications Committee of
the House of Lords.
“The government is quite right to make broadband a policy priority,”
said committee chairman, Lord Inglewood, Richard Fletcher-Vane. “Barely an
aspect of our lives isn’t touched in some way by the Internet, and developments
look set to continue apace in the future…. Without better provision for
everyone in the U.K., this will mean that people are marginalized or excluded
altogether.
“If broadcast services move to be delivered via the Internet for example, as we
believe they may be, then key moments in national life such as the Olympics
could be inaccessible to communities lacking a better communications
infrastructure.”
The committee says “government and industry should consider the long-term
possibility of switching terrestrial broadcast from spectrum to the Internet.”
See…
“Government’s
Broadband Strategy Risks Leaving Communities Behind”