UPDATED: Government confirms Lord Carter exit

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The government has confirmed that Lord Carter, the main architect of Britain’s future technology strategy, will step down after the release of his Digital Britain report.

In a joint statement by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Culture, Media and Sport, Lord Carter will step down from his position as Communications Minister once he has put in place a detailed implementation plan during the summer recess.

The departments said that this was what was originally intended, and with full support of the Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The Times reported that Lord Carter could leave for the private sector, with speculation that he could join ITV as chief executive - although this could be highly controversial as well as lined with difficulties due to his position as an ex-minister.

One of Lord Carter’s previous roles was as chief executive of Ofcom, where he was charged with the responsibility of setting up a roadmap for Britain to be at the ‘forefront of the digital economy’, so as to not fall behind the technology of other countries.

Some of the recommendations that came out of the interim report released at the beginning of the year included proposals on high-speed broadband, a 2Mbps universal service commitment for 2012, as well as investment in the digital and communication industries.

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