UK broadband push a success, says minister

The UK is making good progress towards its goal of having the most competitive and extensive broadband capability among the G7 countries, according to e-commerce minister Stephen Timms.

Speaking at the Broadband World Forum in London this week, Timms praised initiatives such as BT's trigger level programme and related community projects, which, he said, have been fundamental in driving up demand and helping to roll out broadband.

But there is still a key role for the government to play to make broadband services more widely available, especially in rural areas where service providers may find it hard to build a business case because of lower demand, he added.

Demand from the public sector for broadband services from schools and the NHS would help with this.

"The market is best placed to make decisions for a business case but I see a key role for government as a customer," he said.

"By November we will have set up nine Regional Aggregations Bodies, [which] will go out to service providers to show a long-term demand for broadband in rural areas to justify providers offering services."

Timms said that "compelling content" was what broadband was all about. Government had a role to play here with "public sector agencies offering content that will drive up [use] of broadband", he added.

The government is also taking note of recommendations from the Broadband Stakeholders Group (BSG) regarding digital rights managment, he said.