Oh. My. God. Over in the UK, they’re in the process of passing the Digital Economy Bill, which three seconds of research suggests is analogous to the DMCA here in the U.S. Better people than I have already written extensively about why it’s Truly Evil, but this is pretty funny. “Copyright owners are currently able to go on-line, look for material to which they hold the copyright and identify unauthorised sources for that material. They can then seek to download a copy of that material and in so doing capture information about the source including the Intellectual Property (IP) address…” Pretty sure “IP” stands for “Internet Protocol,” but what are you gonna do?

Now, my experience with the British political system includes several episodes of “Yes Minister” and the movie “In the Loop,” so I don’t know where the MPs go for their computer training. (Do you guys in the UK have the Video Professor?) But come on, confusing “Intellectual Property” with “Internet Protocol” just reeks of, “I have no idea what I’m doing, I’m just writing what the lobbyist tells me to write.”

I should probably explain that quoted sentence. It’s a letter written by one Stephen Timms, the Minister for Digital Britain, sent to some other Member of Parliament, MP in the parlance of Whitehall. Timms is basically saying, “We must pass the Digital Economy Bill, for the sake of the Mankind.”

UK readers are encouraged to whinge about the bill in the comments.

Might as well get this over with now. The FCC has announced its National Broadband Plan, which describes where the agency would like to see the U.S. in a few years’ time vis-à-vis broadband and connectedness. It’s sorta like the UK’s Digital Britain report, published last year. The big thing is this: it’s in America’s best interest to turn itself into a first-world nation again, and the best way to do that is to develop its Internet infrastructure a wee bit more. That’s the gist of it: better, faster Internet access for many more people.

The FCC’s goal is to have, by 2020, 100 million homes (out of a projected 130 million) wired with 100 mbps broadband. The agency has said that broadband represents the country’s “greatest infrastructure challenge.” It’s not bridges and subway tunnels anymore—though we could sure use those, too—it’s about making sure you’re able to use the Internet easily and effectively. The idea is to make the Internet the country’s primary means of communication.

The executive summary, a quick synopsis of the otherwise gigantic report, says that broadband “is a foundation for economic growth, job creation, global competitiveness and a better way of life. It is changing how we educate children, deliver healthcare, manage energy, ensure public safety, engage government, and access, organise and disseminate knowledge.” All true. Think of your typical day: how many times do you use the Internet? (And think of those days when, for whatever reason, your Internet connection is down—freak out!) You wake up and you read the news; you check your bank account to make sure you’re not being charged weird fees for no reason; you look to see if your kid’s school is closed because of the snow; you check the weather; you read your work and personal e-mail; you check your Facebook and wish your brother-in-law a happy birthday (even if you don’t mean it); you tweet to the world that “today feels like a good day, gonna be productive”; you download the new Jimi Hendrix album from iTunes and stick it on your iPhone; and you order a Michio Kaku book from Amazon.

It’s broadband, it’s the Internet! It’s the future!

Now, it’s one thing for the FCC to say, “This is what we’d like to see,” but it’s another thing for that to actually happen. The U.S. doesn’t have the best Internet infrastructure out there—yes, we’re not the best at something, don’t cry—and that could be for a number of reasons. One, the U.S. is pretty big. The best wired countries—the Netherlands, South Korea, Norway, places like that—aren’t very large to begin with, and they’re more urban. That is, the majority of the population lives in cities, unlike here in the U.S. where suburbs and exurbs dominate. There’s a reason why, having lived in and around New York my entire life, I go to other places in the country and think, “Man, this is what the rest of America looks like? This is weird.” Not bad, just different. New York might as well be Jupiter compared to Texas. Anyhow, cities are far easier to wire for broadband than Kansas. It’s often not worth the local Internet Service Provider’s time (and money!) to wire you and your neighbor’s house on Smith Street.

But that’s why we need to think of broadband as infrastructure and not some silly little thing. Did we depend on private companies to construct the Inter-state Highway System? Why should broadband be any different?

Will taxes go up to pay for this? I don’t know. I do know that I’d rather see tax dollars go to an improved broadband infrastructure rather than, say, bridges to nowhere or ridiculous corn subsidies. (I just saw Food, Inc. and I’m all worked up.)

Let the record show that I already have 100 mbps broadband (well, 101 mbps!) and it’s really neat.

I, for one, would like to see the U.S. embrace broadband rather than see it fight tooth and nail against progress—big government this, big government that. That’s such a tired argument.

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The ban hammer is about to smash UK file-sharers. Legislation there is set to take effect in April that would, as a last resort, kick illegal file-sharers off the Internet. Very exciting~!

The deal is that the Government, ISPs, and intellectual property owners will work together to kindly remind you that not all forms of file-sharing are on the up and up. If they find you sharing something that you shouldn’t be, you’ll be sent a letter saying, essentially, “please stop.”

You’ll recall this was a hot-button issue during that Digital Britain debate.

That’s phase one. Authorities will check back one year later to see if the letters were effective in stopping illegal file-sharing. If it’s determined that the letters haven’t cut the piracy rate by 70 percent (man, set a high bar much?) then out comes the ban hammer.

You’ll then receive up to two “please stop” letters before you’re disconnected from your ISP.

All well and good, but wait till Brussels hears about this. Appeal, appeal, delay, appeal.

Potentially bad news for you UK readers. An amendment to the big Digital Britain report would kick off “hardcore copyright pirates” from the Internet. The amendment would require ISPs to tell repeat offenders to knock it off, or else. The cost for doing this—it’s not exactly inexpensive to keep track of copyright infringement, mail out letters, etc.—will be burdened by both the ISPs and rights holders.

We all know why this is happening: rights holders there (the UK’s version of the RIAA and MPAA) are freaking out because they never bothered to update their business model, and now are seeing their business (standing in between musicians and their fans, “distributing” music) blow up. Ten years ago, all these companies should have seen the success of Napster, hired the best and brightest right out of college, and have them develop a service that would have limited the proliferation of Internet piracy. I’m thinking OiNK and What.cd: far and away better than what iTunes offers, in both selection and file quality. Now, if the record labels had introduced something like those sites in 2000, or 2001, charged a reasonable amount, they wouldn’t be in this position today.

Again, read Ripped for more on how the music industry screwed itself so, so badly.

But anyway, this UK thing. For their part, the Internet Service Providers’ Association claims to be “disappointed by the proposal to force ISPs to suspend users’ accounts.” It even referenced an earlier ruling by the European Parliament that called kicking people off the Internet a violation of people’s basic rights.

In a coup, I asked in a bunch of file sharing-related IRC rooms that I idle in all day—Linikus for Mac OS X is a great piece of software, even if the thought of paying for an IRC client is 100 percent bonkers—what UK users thought about all of this. They’re very skeptical, with one user claiming outright that “it’ll never happen.” He gets letters from Virgin (a big ISP in the UK) all the time, yet nothing ever comes from it. So if this whole campaign is there to scare people, well, it doesn’t seems to be working.

Hold onto your hats, everyone.

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BT has announced that an additional 69 towns will be receiving their super-fast fibre-based broadband by this time next year – meaning the service will be available to 1.5 million homes and businesses. BT’s Steve Robertson said: “We had aimed to get fibre to half a million homes by next March but we’re now being far more ambitious. We’ve received a tremendous response to date and so we’re keen to get on with the job.” Their overall goal of the project, which is costing the telecommunication giant £1.5billion, is to have 10 million homes covered by 2012 – 40% of the country. BT will be offering access to ISPs on an open, wholesale basis thereby supporting a competitive market. The first areas to have access to the network went live earlier this week. Trials are taking place in Muswell Hill, London and Whitchurch, South Wales and involve 16 different ISPs. The plan is great news for internet users and makes a bit of a mockery of the plan set out in the Digital Britain report to ensure that the country is covered by a broadband network capable of 2Mbps. The super-fast network being developed by BT should be capable of speeds of 40Mbps – 100Mbps. No wonder MPs are to open an inquiry into whether the 2Mbps plan is ambitious enough. Clearly it isn’t. (via BT & Computing.co.uk)

With all of the hullabaloo (yeah I said hullabaloo, big whoop, wanna fight about it?) that surrounded yesterday’s Digital Britain report, you may have missed the announcement that PEGI is going to be the sole gaming classification body in the UK, leaving the BBFC out in the cold. The BBFC have, in the past, accused PEGI of being “just a couple of blokes” and have pulled a bit of a strop over the announcement. “The BBFC has always supported PEGI and wished it well,” they said. “But it continues to believe that it satisfies these requirements better than PEGI.” What this means for consumers is that games will now display the PEGI logos that indicate a game’s specific content – such as that of a spider for fear, a fist for violence and a hypodermic needle for diabetic friendly titles. Not really – the needle represents a drugs theme, silly. The symbols will accompanied by an age-classification of 3,7,12,16 and 18, which are legally enforceable – if you ain’t old enough you ain’t getting in, simple. The PEGI system is Europe-wide and is self regulated by the publishers themselves. (via The Telegraph)

This is the second piece of government or state-related literature that in the past few days has equated Internet access with access to clean water and electricity. (The first was that French court ruling.) That Digital Britain report that I’ve been mentioning for the past few weeks finally came out today. The big headline: Yes, the Internet is Really Important Now. I suggest you at least read the executive summary [PDF]; that’s what it’s there for.

There’s really not much to add to what’s already been written by Gordon Brown, the prime minister there (for now!), in the Times. There’s a bit of the ol’ “Britain was once great, she shall be great once again, thanks to the Internet,” so be on the lookout for that.

Credit to the Government there, though, for undertaking the effort.

You can find the full report here.

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The report we’ve all been waiting for is finally out but, now that the dust has settled, what’s actually changed and what does it mean for you? Have a read of the Tech Digest breakdown. Broadband What we’re expecting Universal Internet program whereby at least 98% of the UK would be covered by broadband fast enough to stream live TV services, i.e more than 2mb/s – possibly funded by the part of the licence fee set aside to assist the nation with digital switchover which won’t be needed by the time the analogue signal has been switched off in 2012. The freed up funds could be given to BT to help with the huge costs of supplying fixed line broadband to remote locations. It’s also possible that the remaining and most difficult to reach communities could receive broadband via satellite although this would mean subsidising subscriptions to services such as Sky. Mobile broadband is also expected to be widened to much of the nation. Currently only a small proportion has 3G service from the big five mobile operators with large parts of Scotland and Wales ignored. It’s hoped that the part of the electromagentic spectrum currently dedicated to the analogue TV service will be sold off to Vodafone, O2 et al and used as encouragement for them to expand their infrastructure and increase their speeds. What we got

• Small 50p levy on fixed telephone lines to build an independent fund to be used to maximise the spread of hard-wired, fast internet to as much of the UK as possible. Without this and left to private enterprise, only 2/3 of the country would ever receive quality service in the next 10 years.
• Promise to modernise the UK wireless network to ensure we don’t fall behind in mobile internet services globally speaking
• Upgrade of all national radio stations from analogue to digital DAB by 2015

What it means By the sounds of things, a small increase in our telephone/broadband bills – a phone line tax – most likely raised at the ISPs and almost definitely passed on to the consumer. Not ideal but I can handle giving a little for the gift of decent broadband to my remote countrymen. The commitment to mobile broadband sounds rather wishy washy and although the sentiment is good, I wouldn’t go expecting 3G coverage in Kinlochbervie any time soon. There’s plenty of wheeling and dealing to do with the big five over termination rates and bandwidth tenders before we get that far but at least the Government has a bargaining chip. As for digital all national radio services. Well, hmm, still doesn’t sound like enough to warrant buying a DAB radio if you live in the sticks. Piracy What we’re expecting A lot of toing and froing between ISPs, record labels, Ofcom and EU legislation about how the “problem” of piracy can be tackled without infringing the rights of the consumers in regard to be being monitored and shut off. Likely that UK ISPs will be given some kind of power beyond idle threat letters to cut off persistent mass file sharers. Some thoughts are of a three strikes rule but the point is that there will be firm legislative backing to follow through on the threats What we got

• Development of legal download markets in the UK to provide a viable alternative to piracy
• Ofcom handed task of reducing file sharing and powers to notify of unlawful activity as well as hand over the details of serial infringers to allow legal action to rights holders.
• ISPs given the task of reducing file sharing by 70%. Given powers to throttle bandwidth of repeat offenders but no three strikes legislation.
• Online piracy and the downloading and uploading of copyright material whether though peer-to-peer or otherwise to be considered civil theft.

What it means Well, it’s a promise to get heavy on file sharing, and more to the point, a promise to get heavy on ISPs if they don’t. You’re probably still safe grabbing the odd TV episode here and there – don’t quote me on that – but expect to have your bandwidth cut and invitations to a court hearing from not so friendly record companies should you do so in any serious quantity. Unclear how easy it’s going to be to police but expect the UK legal system to show you little mercy or offer you much protection. Watch your backs. Channel 4 What we’re expecting The short fall in profits and huge financial issue facing the public funded Channel 4 should be answered. There’s a good chance that part they’ll be helped out by the Government to make sure that the services don’t fold. What we got

• Talks between BBC Worldwide and Channel 4 to secure the future of the latter

What it means Channel 4 will go on, seemingly as aided by the commercial arm of the BBC and perhaps after 2013 by the by the licence fee itself. The License Fee What we’re expecting No rise expected for the consumer and nor do we think it’s going to be scrapped either. Universal Broadband should ensure that all licence payers receive equal opportunity to experience the services that we’re all charged for. However, it’s likely that the BBC will have to put up with having their lions’ share cut down in order to fund institutions like Channel 4 and the implementation of the Digital Britain schemes. What we got

• No mention of BBCs exclusivity on the licence fee as such
• No mention of the cost of the thing either
• Slightly unclear references to the sharing out after 2013 but a clear knowledge that the BBC has no inherent right to it
• Provision of spare switchover funds to aid local and regional news organisations to ensure their survival

What it means It looks as if the BBC will lose their monopoly on the license fee come 2013. Very good chance that a lot of it will go to regional news and Channel 4. Local newspapers and websites – often cited as the cornerstone of UK journalism – will not disappear into the ground. You’ll still receive your large, papery copy of the Maidenhead Advertiser complete with lollypop lady stories, cats up trees and completely outmoded cinema listing as well as local TV news, which ITV can no longer support, and local news websites. Conclusions If you live in Scotland and Wales, you don’t file share and you don’t work at the BBC, then it’s generally good news. Channel 4 and all that enjoy it – most of us, I asume – will breathe a sigh of relief. In fact, it’s only really bad news for pirates and, even then, it’s unclear at the moment as to how well this 70% clampdown’s going to be enforced. Try switching to free streamed services. Ownership is so 90s. All in all, it could have been a little stronger but then everyone would’ve complained. It’s the 50p levy that’s probably the most important and best move for the country as a whole. Great news that Channel 4 will be looked after along with local news organisations. Maybe not an Earth shattering report but good, solid important stuff. (via music ally)

You may remember last week, we published a post regarding BT’s apparent throttling of its users broadband connections. Well, the telecom giant has hit back, going public with its condemnation of online video services like the BBC’s iPlayer and YouTube. Basically this is how the row has unfolded: The BBC releases a story accusing BT of slowing down broadband connections at peak time – to less than 1Mbps between 5pm and midnight – when users should be getting up to 8Mbps. BT responds by sending an email to BBC Radio 4 programme You and Yours stating that content providers “can’t expect to continue to get a free ride”. They also go public with this stance. The Beeb have responded today, via their blog, saying that BT’s move was a “forthright call for cash” and that the row could end with net neutrality becoming obsolete. What this means is that ISPs, who currently make no differentiation between types of internet traffic, could begin to charge content providers for their output, particularly bandwidth hoggers like the iPlayer. The row illustrates how much the net has evolved over the last few years. With the mass introduction of high-bandwidth streaming service like the iPlayer, Spotify, YouTube and the like, the pressure on ISPs to provide a fast and consistent service to their users has increased dramatically. Lord Carter’s Digital Britain review is due next week and should call for broadband at high speeds and low prices. It might just be that content providers are going to have to come to a compromise with the ISPs to make that happen. Whatever the outcome, the end users should not be the ones who are penalised. If an ISP advertises up to 8Mbps broadband with unlimited data allowance then that is exactly what they should provide. They shouldn’t promote a service if they are going to struggle to provide it. (via The FT)