The demand for broadband services is growing fast. Other countries are investing in state-of-the-art fibre optic networks to deliver them quickly to people’s homes and offices, and we must do the same. If we don’t, both Britain and Britons could miss out.

The message to the business leaders, local authority representatives, service providers and others who met at Glasgow’s Hillington Park Innovation Centre on October 28th was clear: the time to invest in next-generation broadband access networks has come.

They were attending the fourth in a series being held across the UK by the Digital Communications Knowledge Transfer Network (DCKTN), a government-funded body set up to create and share knowledge and expertise to keep the UK at the forefront of the digital revolution.

“Every participant in Digital Britain should benefit fairly from the creation, distribution and consumption of digital content and services”, said Maurizio Pilu, lead technologist in ICT at the Technology Strategy Board, a public body sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Maurizio continued by explaining that over the next few years the Technology Strategy Board will be investing £30 million to demonstrate what the future holds and to stimulate commercial deployments.

Speakers pointed out that Britain had already taken to the digital age in a big way. Homes equipped with several TVs, several PCs, several MP3 players, several digital cameras and so on were increasingly commonplace. Increasingly, people expect such devices to be connected – capable of downloading, uploading and exchanging information online.

Equally, the majority of British businesses now conduct one or more aspects of their business online. Most have access to email, many have websites and some have online shops. An increasing number are using office automation, CRM and other ‘software as a service’ applications in preference to software they own and operate themselves.

But significant numbers of individuals and businesses are unable to take advantage of these developments for one reason or another.

For some, the poor performance of broadband connections is the issue. Businesses in rural areas report they are being held back by services that operate at a fraction of speeds available to urban peers.

Others are being held back by poverty, lack of the relevant skills and so on. Those attending the Hillington Park event were impressed by one attempt to tackle this aspect of the digital divide.

West Whitlawburn is one of the ‘top 5’ areas for digital exclusion in the UK. Sixty four per cent of residents don’t have access to the internet or the services it offers. To tackle this problem, new homes built for West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative  (WWHC) in Glasgow have been equipped with a fibre optic network. Operated by Whitcomm Co-operative Ltd, a not-for-profit company owned and managed by residents, it delivers a growing array of services into each home.

“The combination of community ownership, volume purchasing and new technology means residents can buy TV, phone and internet services at bargain rates”, said Susan Small, project officer at WWHC.

Whitcomm’s next step is to develop a range of services focused specifically on the needs of its community – a community portal, a local TV channel and online access to health and social care services. In parallel, it wants to extend the network to WWHC’s older properties, reaching a total of almost 650 homes.

“Our immediate focus is very ‘here and now’ – on services that can enhance tenants’ lives today”, said Susan. “But we are also looking ahead. New technologies have a great deal to offer communities like ours. We see our network evolving to become a ‘living lab’ – a place where universities and other organisations put their new ideas to the test.”

Summing up the whole event, Alisdair Gunn, Senior Manager with Innovation Centres Scotland said: "This was a great opportunity for the DCKTN to hear about the particular challenges facing Scotland, some of which are unique to the Scottish community, but also to hear how Scottish companies and academic organisations are positioning themselves to take advantage of the opportunity of Next Generation Access." He continued: "There was some interesting discussion and it is clear that Scotland is well positioned to help make a significant impact in the area of digital exclusion, globally."

Notes for editors

About the Digital Communications Knowledge Transfer Network

The Digital Communications Knowledge Transfer Network is an industry-led group funded by the Technology Strategy Board, an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

The event in Glasgow was the fourth in a series being held across the UK to discover what people expect high-performance broadband networks to deliver. It was arranged in cooperation with Innovation Centres Scotland.

Events had previously been held in Suffolk, Bristol and Inverness.

Three more events are planned, the first of which will be held in Sheffield on December 1st, 2009. Events will be held in Guildford and in Wales early in 2010.

For more information, please contact John Ames on 05602 395273 or at john.r.ames@btinternet.com.

About Innovation Centres Scotland

Innovation Centres Scotland (ICS), a specialist provider of physical and virtual incubation services to high-growth early-stage SME businesses, operates the award-winning Hillington Park Innovation Centre and Alba Innovation Centre.

In addition, ICS manages two national initiatives – Interactive Scotland and Wellness and Health Innovation. These virtual incubators, which are leading models of their kind, provide sector-specific market and technology advisory services.

ICS provides a portfolio of unique services supporting SME growth in strategic markets and boasts a range of strategic partnerships with global technology and innovation partners. It is the first business support provider to be given UK Business Incubation’s highest level of accreditation – leading edge status – in recognition of its outstanding performance.

More information about ICS and its services is available at www.innovationcentre.org.

About West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative

A registered charity, West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative (WWHC) provides high-quality housing at rents that people in housing need can afford.

The Co-operative works innovatively and in partnership with other organisations to achieve the highest quality of accommodation and service and regenerate the physical, social and economic structure of West Whitlawburn.

Whitcomm Co-operative Ltd, a not-for-profit organisation, provides TV, phone and internet services to WWHC’s tenants.

For more information about WWHC and Whitcomm, go to www.wwhc.org.uk and www.whitcomm.co.uk, respectively.