Inbox: Let's plug the UK's notspots

"Roll on digital Britain!"

The weekly Inbox column collects the best and most thought-provoking of the reader comments silicon.com receives each week.
Filling in the UK's 'notspots' got readers in a tizzy this week, with calls for the advent of digital Britain topping the agenda.

This week also saw the NHS National Programme for IT in the spotlight again, while the Naked CIO announced he'd lost his job. See what advice the readers have below.

Don't forget to post your own response to any of these stories or comments by clicking here.

Broadband Britain: 'Forget fibre - let's plug UK's notspots'
The broadband industry needs to focus on making broadband available to more people in the UK before concentrating on the rollout of faster next generation networks, according to industry experts.

Roll on digital Britain!
The move from best effort broadband to data services that are capable of supporting multiple applications including critical services on a national basis is challenging but doable.

ISPs will have to provide greater transparency of service parameters and we users will need to prioritise our traffic for congestion management at peak periods.

Defining the nature of our digital commons will be an interesting exercise. Roll on digital Britain!
Mike Kiely, London

Fibre diet good for economy
Surely this is not a question of "either", "or". We need to expand coverage and move up the technology stakes and provide fibre access where feasible.

Reports abound about the economic benefits of higher speed connectivity so let's not lose sight of that while we also try and resolve the social inequality aspect of broadband coverage.
Gareth Evans, Bath

Suffering in silence
Notspot campaigns have been ongoing in Scotland and Wales for a long time. It seems to have taken a few years for those in positions of power to notice that parts of the UK have areas without broadband - unfortunately many of these people simply suffer in silence.

While plugging notspots should be a priority, if the Digital Britain report only addresses this in a three- to five-year time frame, which would be quick for any government intervention, we will find that the rest of the UK is seriously hurting its e-economy.

In an ideal world, broadband notspots should be addressed in a way that ensures they become the places to be, i.e. give them fibre-based solutions that will last for as long as the copper network already has.

The knowledge gained in rolling this uber broadband to the two to five per cent of the UK needing it will make commercial rollouts easier.

Whatever happens remember that notspots are not just half up a mountain, just a few miles outside Guildford there is an area that is nominally enabled, but has broadband problems, and similarly for some households near London airport.
Andrew Ferguson, Surrey

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Naked CIO: I've lost my job
The Naked CIO has lost its job - but will keep on writing about IT and sharing experiences as it copes with a less-than-ideal situation.

Time to take stock
I know the feeling so well having been made redundant twice.

Two things that he(?) has missed out is the need to take regular physical exercise every day and also to re-evaluate his career direction. Redundancy is an ideal point in life to take stock.
Charles Smith, London

What's your brand?
What a great article... I think this should inspire those that have gone before you and the many those that will definitely follow you into the job market.

One thing I would add which I found helps in these situations is think brand.

What is your brand! How do you portray it, live it, communicate it.
Jeremy White, London

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Six-month 'kill or cure' deadline for NHS IT project
The Department of Health must turn around the multibillion pound Care Records Service within six months or risk seeing the scheme broken up, according to MPs.

Train wreck ahead

• Poorly scoped
• Little buy in from end users, as ignored at stage 1
• Over-funded
• Programme managed and procured to death
• £20bn down the toilet this time?

The mother of all government IT runaway train wrecks is steaming in... and will arrive in six months..
Anonymous, Birmingham

Mickey Mouse calling
If the NHS IT system is dropped I sincerely hope that those responsible in our Mickey Mouse NHS management will lose their jobs! Like everything else the UK government does, it is a complete fiasco but they will find some excuse for the mess.
Anonymous, Wales

Brushing it away
Out of curiosity, how long will public bodies get away with just dismissing investigation results? It's a tactic that appeared to develop during the Blair years but appears to be alive and well still. Don't like the results of an audit? Just dismiss them! No need to enter into debate or provide any evidence, just trot out the same old mantras and all the bad numbers will just disappear. Why do we (and the media who receive these statements) continue to accept them?
Drew Stephenson, York

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