How our online personal data is collected and used – and whether we have appropriate safeguards in place – is much talked about, particularly for people who use social media. And, that’s what I’ve just been speaking to the Westminster Media Forum about: http://www.communicationsconsumerpanel.org.uk/220311%20Social%20Media,%20Online%20Privacy%20Speech%20Bob%20Warner.pdf
Using the internet in our everyday lives is gathering a momentum from which there is no way back and sharing personal data can bring huge benefits for consumers in the form of more personalised services and lower prices. The problem that our new research project has highlighted is that consumers have a low awareness of how their data is collected – while, in an apparently contradictory view, they say that controlling their personal data is their own responsibility. Does this mean that consumers believe they should be in control, but are actually unable to carry this out? I’m not yet sure. We need to ask more questions to get to the bottom of what’s really happening. But, for me the bottom line should always be that consumers make an informed choice about what they share – and what they get in return. So companies need to explain the benefits that can result from sharing data, and tell us in a straightforward way how they go about collecting, using and protecting our data – before we decide to hand over the details of our lives.
At the moment consumers seem to be saying that they know that they are making a trade-off in allowing their data to be used; but they don’t know what the trade-off that they are making is.
Bob Warner, Communications Consumer Panel Member
It's good to see that consumer programmes like the BBC's Rip Off Britain want to broadcast the positive work we do to protect consumer interests. The show this week looked at the problems people face when they can't get mobile coverage with their provider, and can't find a way out of their contract. The story has been a familiar one to the Consumer Panel, and led us to commission research to discover just how big a problem it is; and the very clear answer was that it was much bigger than the rather superficial national statistics would suggest. As the Panel Chair Anna Bradley said in her interview on the programme "all consumers should have the right to have a phone that works in the places that they want it to work". Following discussions with providers on the basis of our research, a number of improvements have already been introduced, so we've achieved some positive change for consumers - and that's what our work is all about.
Government policy was put forward (in a video link from BIS) by Communications Minister Ed Vaizey and by Simon Towler, Head of Broadband Policy & Programmes at BIS.
The Government's declared aim is to ensure that the UK has the best superfast broadband network in Europe by 2015. So far, there has been no explanation of what is meant by ‘best' or how will be evaluated, but a ‘balanced scorecard' is being developed.
At the heart of the Government's approach is the commitment in the Comprehensive Spending review to £830 million of public money between now and 2017 to support the roll-out of broadband in rural areas. The first £530 million of this will come from the underspend on Digital Switchover. There will then be a further £150 million a year from 2013 through the BBC licence fee settlement.
There will be four trials of the delivery of next generation broadband in rural areas and these trials are being funded through Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK).
Government is pushing with Ofcom for a lowering of investment costs in NGA through something called Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA), allowing access by new entrants to the infrastructure of BT and ultimately other organisations such as the electricity and water networks. BT is due to publish reference offers for access to ducts and poles in January & May 2011 respectively.
Another important part of Government policy concerns release of spectrum. Ed Vaizey wants to see the earliest possible release of 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum and believes that we are now on course for this to be auctioned in 2012. In addition, the Government has made a commitment to release 500MHz of spectrum below 5GHZ currently held by the public sector over the next ten years.
Government plans to publish a Broadband Strategy Document in early December 2010 which will provide more detail on policy.
In his welcome on the programme, CEO of INCA Macolm Corbett wrote:
"We are emphasising a ‘Big Society' approach to broadband at the conference. Neither ‘Big Company', nor ‘Big Government' can fully tackle the need for investment in areas that are less attractive commercially, especially the Final Third. It needs a combined effort - private sector, public sector and us, as citizens in our communities."
In January and October 2009, the Communications Consumer Panel produced two reviews of local community schemes for the delivery of next generation access and, throughout the two days of this event, there were constant references to various local schemes at different stages of development including:
On behalf of INCA, Adrian Wooster made a presentation on the Joint Operating Network (JON) Exchange, opened last week by Minister Ed Vaizey. This is designed to provide a single source of access to alternative access networks.
Reference was made to a grant from the Nominet Trust to INCA for a Big Society Broadband Support Project.
Dr Robert Sullivan, HEAD of Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), spoke about the four rural trials for the delivery of next generation broadband and, in a panel session, there were representatives from each of the four trial areas.
There were 56 applications for the trials and originally it was intended to select three areas, but in the event four were chosen. Each area will be allocated around £5-10 million. The first pilot procurement will start early next year.
The four trial areas are as follows:
The surprise choice was Herefordshire and it was claimed that so far all the project has is "a blank sheet of paper" which prompted one failed bidder to wonder how it had won.
Robert Sullivan explained that these four trials only represented "the first wave" and that there will be further waves, but he could give no timescales for such further projects.