Thunderdome

« Back to the top page
IDG News Service
Like the story? Get Alerts of big news events. Enter your email address

Communications minister Lord Stephen Carter looks set to be the latest government minister to resign.

Former public relations executive Carter, who was recruited just 18 months ago, is due to release the Digital Britain report - a strategy document to shape the communications industry including broadband for all UK homes, next week.

The Times has reported he will announce his resignation on the eve of the report's launch.

Carter told the newspaper: "I'm beavering away feverishly on my report, that's my only preoccupation".

Carter initially served as the Prime Minister's chief of strategy and principal adviser. But, after a reported falling out with Gordon Brown's now-disgraced spin doctor Damian McBride, Carter became Communications Minister in October last year. He was tasked with the responsibility for reshaping internet and media regulation throughout Britain.

The Digital Britain report will propose measures to extend access to broadband internet services and revamp how public service broadcasting is funded. It will also tackle illegal downloads.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport was unable to comment at time of writing.

Take part in PC Advisor's Broadband Survey 2009

See also: Gov't could slow illegal downloaders' web access

Reprinted with permission from PC Advisor. Story copyright 2009 PC Advisor Inc. All rights reserved.

make a prediction you say?
ok, I predict that nothing much will change with the plumbing, BT will get handouts to patch up their obsolete legacy copper network which they call 21CN, towns and cities will get 'up to 20meg' with the exception of manchester which is farsighted enough to lay its own fibre.
Money made from the sale of spectrum will be wasted on the media and trying to outwit pirates who are far smarter than we are.
In other words it has probably been a complete waste of taxpayers money. Far better to have used it in laying fibre to the homes of the people who can't get broadband.
Roughly half the country can't ever get speeds of over 8 meg using the copper infrastructure, a quarter can't get a decent connection at all, and Korea is gonna get a gigabit. Sad state of affairs for ukplc when everyone else in the global village races ahead of us. And we are a digital economy after all is said and done, because we have no industries left any more.


Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Respectful debate is welcome, but comments that are defamatory, indecent, abusive, or in violation of any law will be removed.