Government delays Digital Britain report

The Digital Britain report may call for minimum broadband speeds

The findings of an interim report on Britain's digital economy, due out on 24 January, will now be pushed back to "the end of the month", the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has confirmed.

The Digital Britain report by communications minister Lord Carter is set to cover a range of issues, including digital content standards and internet security.

The full report is due out in the second quarter of 2009, but it is hoped that the interim report will provide important insights into ways in which the government can regulate the internet to "even up" the balance with television.

Public service broadcasting, digital radio and broadband development will also be examined in depth before the full results are published.

It is believed that the report may call for minimum broadband speeds and universal coverage to be imposed on telecoms suppliers, to help provide better connectivity for citizens across the UK.

Internet service providers are currently obliged to provide a functional internet connection at a low minimum speed of 28.8Kbit/s, which many deem highly unsatisfactory.

Whereas Britain's digital divide was previously thought to be based on geographical location, with urban connectivity far outpacing that of rural areas, the contemporary divide is believed to be more about socio-economic factors, with socially deprived areas bearing the brunt.

Analysts and experts have now voiced concerns that any moves by the government to force telecoms giants to create new, superfast, next-generation networks could just cause a deepening of the divide.

It is also hoped that the Digital Britain report will take a look at illegal file-sharing and suggest ways of dealing with the problem.