Broadband
Rural broadband PAC session
The Public Accounts Committee held a follow up session on the rural broadband programme. The key concerns were the same as those aired in July’s committee session, where Margaret Hodge MP accused Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) of allowing BT Openreach (BT) to build a “quasi-monopolistic position which it is exploiting by restricting access to cost and roll-out information“.
Committee’s criticisms
Local people in affected areas need detailed speed and coverage templates but BT is not supplying these. Many of the published maps are not fit for purpose.
BT were questioned whether confidentiality clauses in their contracts with local councils were preventing local councils from publishing the information needed by people
The committee reminded BT that their broadband roll-out was not a commercial programme as it is heavily subsidised by the taxpayer, and as such people have the right to know the speed and coverage of future broadband. Sean Williams, strategy chief, BT, was asked how local groups who realised part-way through the survey that they would not be covered would be able to lobby BT to include them in the roll out programme.
The committee suggested that BT were a monopoly provider and criticised DCMS’s tendering process for failing to encourage competition and for its lack of transparency and lack of publicly available information.
The committee argued that there should be total transparency between local councils regarding each other’s contracts. It was stated that contractual restriction imposed by BT was against public interest and suggested that the government withholds money from BT until it makes information available.
BT’s response
Detailed speed and coverage templates cannot be released by BT as they contain commercially sensitive information, such as BT’s solutions for areas which don’t yet have coverage.
Sean Williams, strategy chief, BT repeated the rebuttal he gave during the PAC session last year that the information in question was the responsibility of Local Authorities to publish and that BT was not standing in the way of publication. But he confirmed that 40 of the 44 local bodies they were working with had released necessary information in the form of maps.
On confidentiality clauses, Williams said they did not affect local council’s ability to publish information on a 7 digit postcode level.
Regarding lobbying opportunities, Williams suggested that local groups made their needs clear to their local council, whilst commercial companies could approach BT directly
DCMS/BDUK response
Department for Culture, Media and Sport representatives Sue Owen and Jon Zeff agreed with BT’s response that local councils are able to publish area maps, and Zeff assured the committee that he will provide supplementary clarification on this issue to local authorities.
Sue Owens defended DCMS, assuring MPs that the Department was protecting public interests and would continue to do so successfully with the added help of BDUK’s new CEO, someone capable of asking hard commercial questions of BT.
Owens told the committee that 57 different suppliers were being considered for the next £250m and that small companies would have a good chance of winning contracts.
The committee ended the session with a guarantee that they would have the panel back before further funding was released as there were significant issues around transparency and availability of information that remain unresolved.
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Broadband performance indicator – December 2013
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport have published a statistical release on the progress of the Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) rural programme. Key findings:
273,731 premises had superfast broadband service made available by the end of December 2013 as a result of BDUK-supported projects
BDUK grants to local authorities and budget transfers to devolved administrations amounted to a cumulative £14,182,547 up to the end of December 2013
This equates to 19,301 premises covered per £million of broadband delivery programme expenditure up to the end of December 2013.
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DCMS Question Time
Thursday this week saw DCMS question time. During the questioning the Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, Maria Miller MP and Internet Minister, Ed Vaizey MP:
Reiterated Government’s £250 million funding to extend superfast broadband to 95% of UK premises by 2017 and the £10 million investment to find ways to provide superfast broadband to the hardest-to-reach and remotest premises. This followed a number of questions from backbenchers on rural broadband rollout
Praised BT for pledging an additional £50m to city-centre areas where that is currently not commercially viable
Defended Government in response to Helen Goodman’s complaints that rural broadband rollout had been mismanaged, with funding going to one provider and the cost of a connection in a super-connected city far higher than in rural areas
Explained that Government research has shown that in a decade’s time, the rural gross value added to the rural economy will be £33bn
Repeated the value of the creative industries at £70bn and expressed ‘surprise’ that the Opposition was launching a review into the creative industries
Committed to continue to press Google to do more to tackle online copyright infringement, after Therese Coffey MP claimed that 9 out of 10 results for an MP3 search returned were for illegal sites
Confirmed that a ministerial meeting will be taking place with social media companies “to put in place procedures giving people a clear ability to report abuse and procedures to ensure that they are responded to in good time”, following a number of questions from MPs raising concern over cyber-bulllying. Existing laws and education was also raised.
Made a link between cyber bullying and the ongoing data protection negotiations in Europe, with the minister saying it was important people could retrieve data from websites to which they have freely given them
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Online Safety
Children and Families Bill – Report Stage (Day 4) House of Lords
The debate was wide ranging, with online child protection and ISP content filtering under discussion as a result of Baroness Howe of Idlicote’s amendment 53ZAAB after clause 73, which was ultimately defeated. The amendment focused on the provision of an internet service that protects children, calling on ISPs and OFCOM to shoulder the responsibility for doing this through an opt-in access policy to adult content and setting of regularly reviewed content filtering standards. The detailed amendment and Baroness Howe’s opening remarks can be found here.
Baroness Howe’s amendment constitutes another attempt to enshrine tougher online child safety regulations in law, having twice failed to gain sufficient legislative traction with previous iterations of an online safety private members bill.
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Debate on Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation in Scotland report
During a public petitions committee debate in the Scottish Parliament, aspects of online child safety were discussed:
The report’s central recommendation was that a national, comprehensive strategy for tackling child sexual exploitation (CSE) is required, a strategy that includes an updated definition that recognises the level of online activity in our lives and the risks that that can present for our children and young people.
The importance of better information sharing between professionals, parents and young people for improving child online safety was identified.
Amongst the range of topics discussed, out of the online aspects of the debate there was regular mention of the dangers of online grooming and the opportunities afforded by chat rooms and social media.
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Lords debate online child safety
Lord Cormack posed the question of what Government was doing to protect children from dangers online, noting that sanctions exist for those who supply alcohol to children, and that the regulation of online content should not be left to the industry. Lord Cormack’s question inspired a range of answers from the house:
Lord Gardiner of Kimble sympathised with his point, but argued that all things that are illegal offline are illegal online, and that self-regulation allowed Government to work with the ISPs to “stay ahead of the game.”
Baroness Howe of Idlicote noted the progress made already on this issue, but emphasised the importance of education, asking for an outline of plans to improve online safety education.
Lord Gardiner outlined that from September 2014 e-safety will be taught as part of computing for all pupils from the ages of five to 16.
Others discussed the potential to review the role of Ofcom; the inevitability of over filtering but also the ability to rectify it; and suicide or self-harm sites.
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Child abuse online
In response to a parliamentary question from Alun Cairns MP on steps to tackle child abuse online, the Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims, Damien Green MP commented that Internet search engines have made effective changes to their search mechanisms that have made it harder to access child abuse images. Green also pointed to the creation of a new taskforce to work with industry to counter online child sexual exploitation.
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OFT give online gaming industry 2 months to comply with its principles
The OFT has published its final principles for online and in-app games. Games producers have a deadline of 1 April to ensure that their games do not breach consumer protection law. The principles include:
Information about costs, material information, game business, commercial intent and should be portrayed clearly, accurately and prominently upfront
A game should not mislead consumers by giving the false impression that payments are required or are an integral part of the way the game is played if that is not the case.
Games should not include practices that are aggressive, or which otherwise have the potential to exploit a child’s inherent inexperience, vulnerability or credulity or to place undue influence or pressure on a child to make a purchase
A game should not include direct exhortations to children to make a purchase or persuade others to make purchases for them
Payments must be authorised
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Parliamentary answer on the protection of children online
In a written answer to Steve Rotheram MP, the Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims, Damien Green MP, outlined the extent of inter-departmental discussions on child protection online. Green confirmed that Home Office ministers regularly meet DCMS ministers and highlighted the work of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS), explaining that it is a group of over 200 organisations containing representatives from Government, law enforcement, the charity sector, academia and the online industry, who work together to help keep children safe online.
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Creative Industries
Labour launches creative industries and digital review
Labour’s Shadow Culture Secretary Harriet Harman MP and Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna MP launched the review as part of an effort to create a strategy to support the creative industries.
The review will look at challenges and opportunities for policymakers and businesses alike and at how Britain can better complete and continue to be a global leader across digital and creative industries.
This review sits alongside and will be informed by the Labour-backed taskforce on developing young people’s digital skills, led by Maggie Philbin, and Labour’s ‘Digital Government’ review, which is looking at how digital technology can improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of government and public services. Woodward will be supported by a group of industry experts from the film, TV, music, gaming, publishing and digital industries. The advisory board consists of various creative industries representatives with further information available here.
For more information about the review or submit evidence, please contact cireview@btconnect.com
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Ofcom
Ofcom outlines programme of work
Ofcom has outlined its programme of work to ensure that consumers receive value for money and a good quality of service from their communications providers. This work is informed by findings in its annual Consumer Experience Report, published earlier this week.
Ofcom’s main focus is on further improving the value and quality of communications services and helping consumers to make informed purchasing decisions. This includes:
Shortening landline and broadband installation and repair time
Making it easier for consumers to switch their landline and broadband provider
Assessing whether communications services are affordable for the least well off
Publishing quality of service information that will make it easier for consumers to compare the performance of mobile networks
Protecting consumers from mid-contract price rises and tackling nuisance calls
Monitoring Royal Mail to ensure it improves its delivery performance
Publish information on the best and worst performing providers and ensure consumers have complaints dealt with effectively by increasing consumer awareness of Alternative Dispute Resolution Schemes (ADRS)
Ofcom have also published Cost and Value of Communications Services in the UK, a report based on their analysis of price and quality trends over time. The main findings from the report are:
Mobile phones: average monthly average spend by individuals on mobile services declined by 23% in real terms between 2003 and 2012 (from £24.99 to £19.13) and the volume of voice calls has more than doubled from 54 billion minutes per year to 125 billion, SMS volumes have increased from 24 billion to 172 billion, and 92% of adults now use a mobile phone.
Fixed broadband: average amount spent on a residential fixed broadband connection has decreased by 48% over eight years (from £31.79 in 2004 to £16.38 per month in 2012), and average UK residential fixed-line broadband speed has increased from 3.6 Mbit/s in Nov 2008 to 14.7 Mbit/s in May 2013.
Landline telephone: average amount spent on landline services per month fell by 28% between 2003 and 2012 (from £29.71 to £21.47). Over the same period there has been a significant reduction in landline call volumes, from 88 billion per year in 2003 to 60 billion per year in 2012.
Pay TV: Average spending on pay TV services among households that subscribe to them has remained consistent in real terms over the last decade at around £40 per month (£40.60 per month in 2003 compared to £40.37 in 2012)
Reliability of communications services: Customer satisfaction with service reliability is highest for landline telephone (94%) and digital TV (93%), unchanged over the past 12 months. Satisfaction with reliability of broadband services is lower and has declined from 88% in 2012 to 83% in 2013; mobile reception satisfaction is 82% and unchanged since 2012. Seventeen per cent of rural consumers are dissatisfied with the reliability of their broadband service and 19% with the reliability of their mobile service – significantly higher than the averages for these markets (11% and 12%).
Nuisance calls: After reaching a peak of 3,900 in April 2013, complaints to Ofcom about silent and abandoned calls fell to 2,857 in October 2013 – a 27% decrease.
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Ofcom consultation on charge control proposals
Ofcom published a consultation on its revised and new proposals on charge control, following an original consultation last summer to ensure competition in the wholesale broadband access market. The revised control proposals includes a significant change to the range of X that was previously consulted upon. In the previous consultation, Ofcom decided to use anchor pricing, whereby the price of existing services is ‘anchored’ by the legacy technology, even if the services are actually provided over new technology.
The revised changes that Ofcom is seeking views on include a number of detailed points around modelling, definitions, pricing and more besides. The consultation also explains why Ofcom does not consider it appropriate to change its proposals on charge control in relation to market definition, SMP or remedies following the receipt of new information on fibre roll-out and take-up.
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Cyber
Cybercrime
Responding to a question from Alun Cairns MP on what steps the government can take to combat the risks associated with TOR (The Onion Router), the Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims, Damien Green MP, confirmed that one of the specific tasks given to the industry by the UK-US joint taskforce is that of finding a way to root out criminality from secret parts of the web, often accessed by criminals who seek to exploit children online.
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Cyber-bullying
In answer to a series of questions on cyber-bullying, the Minister for Crime Prevention, Norman Baker MP http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm140127/debtext/140127-0001.htm#140127-0001.htm_spmin4http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm140127/debtext/140127-0001.htm#140127-0001.htm_spmin4 that:
There is cyber-stalking and harassment legislation in place to punish those that send unsolicited sexual images via the internet and telephone.
Teachers have been given stronger powers to tackle cyber-bullying by searching for and, if necessary, deleting inappropriate images or files on electronic devices, including mobile phones. Baker further commented that the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre have developed a specific educational resource to tackle sexting that is designed for use by teachers.
In relation to tackling cases of revenge porn, stated that the police may use the Malicious Communications Act 1988, under which it is an offence to send communications or other articles with intent to cause distress or anxiety.
Stated that that 96% of primary schools and 73% of secondary schools teach e-safety, either as separate lessons or embedded in others.
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Parliamentary written answer on Government steps to address cyber-bullying
The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families, Edward Timpson MP, provided Steve Rotheram MP with a detailed update on the steps the government is taking to prevent young people from being bullied or having upsetting experiences when they are online. Confirming that:
As part of changes to the new computing programmes of study which will be taught from September 2014, e-safety will be taught at all four key stages.
The new curriculum offers opportunities to tackle the underlying causes of bullying; teaching children about the diverse national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the United Kingdom and the need for mutual respect and understanding.
Government is providing £4 million of funding over two years from 2013 to four anti-bullying organisations: Beatbullying, the Diana Award, Kidscape and the National Children’s Bureau consortium. Organisations that target all kinds of bullying, include cyber-bullying.
Government Ministers have regular meetings with internet providers, social media platforms and search engines on matters related to internet safety, including cyber-bullying.
The internet service providers (ISPs) have now rolled out easy to use filtering to all new customers and will confirm that, by the end of 2014, 95% of all homes with an existing internet connection will be required to choose whether to switch on a whole home family friendly internet filter.
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Data Privacy
Telecommunications: Databases
In response to a question by David Davis MP, asking whether the Government stores telephone communications data on British citizens against whom no evidence of criminal activity is held, the Minister for Security, James Brokenshire MP responded by outlining the legal framework surrounding communication and data interception.