With the e-christmas cards doing the rounds, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to send out our own personalised message. So this is a once only, because I don’t think I’ll be able to persuade the team to do this again - well at least not the singing Santa version. Hope you have a great christmas!
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This morning the Community Broadband Network came to Birmingham today with its roadshow to highlight the need for the UK to get to grips with the next generation of broadband access. We’re talking about a network where 100 megabits per second is the norm with the potential to deliver 1 gigabits per second (which will be the universal service obligation in South Korea by 2012 - yes, that’s what they’ll get as a minimum).
So I suspect delegates there may not have greeted with much enthusiasm the news in the Budget that the government has confirmed its commitment to just 2 megabits per second access for all. However, that’s not to say it’s ignoring the issue of next generation networks. Alastair Darling also announced funding for Yorkshire’s Digital Region project and there may be something in the £750m strategic investment fund for digital industries to get stuck into. More - Budget confirms broadband commitment
….or at least that’s the fancy title of the pilot project we’re running with funding from the department for Communities and Local Government. As announced by Hazel Blears, Birmingham is one of ten English councils who secured funding for a ‘Timely Information for Citizens’ pilot project.
The idea behind ‘Birmingham - Open City’ is to develop a community of practice around developing new resources to empower citizens. When Digital Birmingham were working up the bid we went on the basis that we shouldn’t presume what kind of services could be developed, or indeed, what kind of data sources could be made available to develop them. Instead we’re focusing on putting some resource into generating the collaborations, discussions, creativity and debate from which new services can spring.
Digital Birmingham is a Birmingham City Council initiative and part of a city wide strategic partnership of more than 30 public, private and voluntary organisations
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