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Convergence Think Tank to start thinking, but what about?

By The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) in Industry

Posted in Convergence, Next generation broadband on January 22, 2008 at 2:47 pm

The government’s new Convergence Think Tank (CTT) is due to have its first meeting in just over a fortnight. With such a wide brief in an ever-charging area there will be a variety of issues for it to address, and no shortage of voices striving to be heard.

Addressing the Oxford Media Convention last Thursday, Secretary of State James Purnell outlined one of the key issues that the CTT will look at: the future of public service broadcasting (PSB). It is a safe bet that this will be at or near the top of the agenda, as this is an area of importance for DCMS, and also for the viewing public and the broadcasting industry. PSB’s evolution in a converged world is a core issue, and it is important that this debate takes place.

But what else aside from PSB will be on the think tank’s agenda? Also speaking at the Convention was Robin Foster, a member of the CTT’s steering group which is advising on the agenda. Foster spoke of the importance of next generation access (NGA), and said that he felt the issue should be one of the key items on the group’s agenda.

NGA, if and when the investment occurs in the UK, could have a profound impact on the communications market in the UK. The development or not of NGA, for example, could influence the future evolution of broadcasting in general, and PSB in particular. It will be interesting to see how this issue is addressed by the CTT, and to what extent it contributes to the growing debate around NGA.

Peter Shearman, Policy Manager, BSG