Broadband Britain: e-minister reveals cunning plan

The government is trying hard to establish its broadband credentials following a speech made by e-envoy Andrew Pinder yesterday, in which he appeared to blame the Treasury for not doing enough to promote the uptake of broadband in the UK.

Speaking at the annual Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference, Pinder suggested that the plight of broadband didn't muster government sympathy because of an apparent lack of business demand.

But e-minister Douglas Alexander is set to spell out precisely what action the government intends to take to encourage the adoption of broadband in his speech in Cambridge later this evening (Tuesday).

The speech will outline how the government will aggregate public sector demand for broadband services in order to create a market, thereby reducing the risk to companies considering building broadband infrastructure.

Alexander will point out that the public sector, as the largest broadband customer in the country, should leverage its purchasing power to encourage rapid growth.

The speech will also build on comments made by Tony Blair at the CBI yesterday about the importance of the high-speed internet to British business.

The roll-out of high-speed internet services has occurred at a slower rate than many anticipated, because of the relatively high costs to consumers and the large infrastructure costs to service providers.

Alexander will also announce the inauguration of a new government-sponsored conference focused on Broadband Britain, aimed at galvanising the industry into action.

A spokesman for the DTI denied the speech was a response to the e-envoy's comments: "This speech has been booked and down in Douglas Alexander's diary for a long time. I'm afraid this is just coincidence."

A spokeswoman for the e-envoy said that he fully supported the policy of aggregation of broadband procurement.