CWU Responds to Digital Britain Interim Report

CWU strongly welcomes the Digital Britain Interim Report and its proposals for improving Britain’s digital economy which should secure jobs in the telecoms and complementary sectors. 

Andy Kerr, deputy general secretary, said: “At a time of huge job losses right across the nation in all sectors, these recommendations promise to boost growth, create employment opportunities, and better prepare the UK economy for the challenges ahead.

“The CWU has consistently lobbied for a universal access to broadband so we are delighted to see a recommendation for a universal service obligation for broadband, which will be vital to achieving digital inclusion and enabling full participation in society and the economy

“Investment in new digital communications infrastructure is going to be crucial to the UK’s economic competitiveness, so the Government’s plans to remove barriers to the timely rollout of Next Generation Access networks are encouraging. 

“Given the current economic uncertainty and question marks over private investment, we believe that public incentives will be an essential element in further enabling broadband deployment, and we hope to see a commitment from Government on this issue.

“The CWU looks forward to contributing to this timely debate and putting forward our more detailed views to Government in response to its proposals.

“Universal access to broadband is great news but we need timely Government action to ensure that UK jobs and skills are in place to deliver this vision.”

Front Page