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Courtesy of: Birmingham Post
Please note: This article was written before the Digital Britain Final Report was published.

Digital Birmingham director Chris Price chaired the infrastructure panel at the Digital Britain event on 17th June in Birmingham. He lays down the case for investment in new technology to allow Birmingham to compete with cities such as Amsterdam and Paris.

The Digital Britain report to be published next week is relevant to all of Birmingham. Will it help us to create the new jobs in the city to respond to the recession? Will it offer opportunities to our vibrant creative sector? Will it help us to benefit from transformed public and information services? Will Digital Britain give a national lead to complement our efforts to create a Digital Birmingham?

Underpinning the digital future is the digital infrastructure, both wired and wireless. Birmingham already has broadband from BT, Virgin Media and others, so what's the problem? There are several.
The Government seems to believe that two megabits per second is a "fast enough" broadband speed, but if you have tried to send a video across a standard broadband line, you will have learned that then is the time to make a cup of tea. Upload rates are low; lines are shared so you rarely get the headline speeds. If you are trying to work from home or are a small business reliant on these connections, even e-mail can be painfully slow.

What we need for business is guaranteed, symmetric connectivity - the sort that can be delivered by optical fibre direct to your home, often called Next Generation Access. This solution can connect you to your work, your business to the globalmarket place and bring High Definition (3D) entertainment to your living room. In a global economy, Birmingham has to compete with cities such as Amsterdam, Eindhoven and Paris who are investing in Next Generation Access.

Telecommunications infrastructure is now a key aspect of how cities are judged - one analysis puts it as the third-highest factor in choosing a place to do business. A question for Digital Britain is will the Government invest directly in an infrastructure that is fit for the changing economy and lifestyles? This could be used by any service
provider and therefore provide greater choice and value for the consumer. We get gas and electricity from whichever company we choose without having to put another pipe into the house. Can telecommunications not work the sameway?

Many of our homes(more than 40%) and our small businesses (38%) have not connected. Why not? Many people are reluctant to enter into lengthy contracts and are moving away from landlines, preferring
instead their mobile phones. We are increasingly connected at all times through our mobiles or BlackBerries and there is growing need for more reliable and faster links while on the move. Birmingham already has a starting point for new services through Birminghamfiz,
the new city centre WiFi free information zone; alongwith a proof of concept for public and private transport information that aims to make us the first 'Intelligent City' in the UK; plus a thriving and innovative social media sector.

The future prosperity of our city is dependent upon bits and bytes flowing smoothly and quickly to businesses and to homes. We are a city founded on innovation and entrepreneurship. We need to attract and retain digital innovators and entrepreneurs. For that we need investment now in the digital infrastructure.