IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Prime minister Gordon Brown announced in a speech this morning that two new bodies will work with the public sector to drive forward his vision of a " digital economy".

Brown said that both organisations will transform how public services are delivered over the internet, and make them more accessible to citizens.

BT Group has announced a narrowband internet of things (NB-IOT) network, which it says is set to pave the way for more UK smart cities and industries.

The network is underpinned by EE’s mobile network and covers 97% of the UK’s population, based on EE's licensed spectrum in the 1800MHz band.

NB-IoT is a low-power network that offers the ability to securely and reliably connect IOT devices

What does effective digital transformation look like? The UK needs to grow its digital economy to suit all of the job opportunities predicted to rise in the next few years – but a world-leading skills framework is needed

In June, the UK government’s now-former Tech Minister, Chris Philp, outlined the latest national Digital Strategy. Offering a single vision to grow the country’s Digital Economy, the strategy seeks to ensure that digital technology, infrastructure and data drives economic growth and innovation in the coming years. If executed well, the strategy promises to lead to new jobs, skills and services that benefit and level up the whole of the UK with an effective digital transformation.

Lead consultant on new European benchmarking report says slow roll out of GOV.UK Verify has held back overall progress

Slow progress in rolling out the GOV.UK Verify authentication platform is keeping the UK back in the European pack for digital public services, according to one of the authors of a new benchmarking report on e-government from Capgemini Consulting.

Government websites are so bad they are largely ignored by the public.

Many countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan are facing the problems of an ageing population and declining productivity, smart city has become their best solution.

Research institute IDC observes that among the five smart city projects that every nation focuses on, three are data related, namely data use, digital trust, and data-driven public safety, and these are closely related.

We should look to Estonia, which has become one of the most sophisticated digital societies in the world.

The first time I became aware of electronic voting was in Mega-City One, where the Weather Congress collated the citizen's daily weather vote. Generally, the public opted for hot and sunny, but occasionally a decent shower to cool the place down and wash the streets. It was the 1980s, I was a boy and the dystopian Mega-City One was located, harmlessly, in the pages of 2000AD, the inspired sci-fi comic of my generation. Three decades on, though, it feels as if the time may be right for fact to fuse with fiction and to reflect on how we vote as well as what we vote for.

A new broadband mapping toolkit covering connectivity across UK Local Authorities (LAs) reveals significant disparities in digital infrastructure, with key challenges hindering progress in improving digital access and inclusion. While gigabit broadband rollout is advancing through Project Gigabit and market-led initiatives, many areas remain underserved, and mobile coverage gaps persist.

Oliver Johnson, CEO at Point Topic, which produced the maps and data, commented: “Despite substantial investment and progress in broadband infrastructure, digital inequalities remain a pressing issue. The data highlights areas where Local Authorities need targeted support to bridge connectivity gaps and ensure no community is left behind.”

UK citizens want digital public services – but privacy and security must be paramount.

In today’s 24-7, ‘always-on’ society, we expect to be able use the internet to serve all our needs. If we want to pay a bill or transfer money, a growing number of UK citizens now do this online. Nobody wants their life to be administered during a rigid, 9 to 5 window.

Network solutions will play a significant role in developing sustainable, future-proof buildings and cities. Currently, smart building technology sits at the confluence of two growing trends: the continual migration of populations into city centres, and the crisis of climate change motivating sustainable infrastructure choices. The climate crisis represents a threat to the future health of our planet. According to a 2021 report by the Climate Action Tracker group, the world is headed for 2.4°C warming by the end of the century, a trend which will continue to fuel more intense storms, heat waves, and droughts — driving instability at the foundations of human societies around the globe. Now is a critical time for sustainable practices to be implemented throughout our economic systems to reduce the impact of human activities on the planet.

The implementation plan has broken down the strategy in the Digital Britain final report into smaller projects and has set targets for each and identified who is responsible for leading them.

The current economic climate has made it increasingly clear just why a comprehensive plan to create a “digital Britain” is needed.

If we want to shorten the downturn and emerge stronger into the upturn, it is imperative that we cultivate the digital and communications industries, where there is a strong growth story and substantial opportunities to create revenue and jobs.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) report - knocked out by business consultants Indepen, and examining "the challenges posed by the European Commission's recently-launched i2010 initiative" - gives the example of broadband in the US, noting that it is "growing at the same rapid rate as television ownership back in the 1940s".

The newly published Citizens’ Digital Participation research report from Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, reveals that Brits do not necessarily identify their actions as citizen participation. But more of them than ever are participating nonetheless.

Internet access begins at home only if you're well paid, according to new research that show that years of government and industry initiatives have yet to close Britain's digital divide.