next generation broadband: shaping an inclusive digital region bridgette wessels university of...

Next Generation Broadband:

shaping an inclusive digital region

Bridgette WesselsUniversity of Sheffield

[email protected]

21/04/23 © The University of Sheffield

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Introduction• Situating digital region analysis: ‘communicative turn’

and ‘information age’ – linking strategy and practice

• Relationship between technology, economic development and social policy

• Regions in global networked economy

• South Yorkshire Digital Region (SYDR)- outline and issues

• Under what conditions will next generation broadband and SYDR make a difference and to what and for who?

• Concluding comments


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Situating the dynamics of digital development• Problems in defining ‘information society’ - economic, political,

social and cultural (Webster, 1995; 2003)

• Empirical research shows the importance of ‘communicative practices’ across a range of contexts and people (Silverstone, 2005; Berker et al., 2006)

• Communication and networks - interaction of 3 processes: 1/the economy managing flexibility in global capitalism; 2/ strengthening values of individual freedom and open communication; 3/ advances in ICT (Castells, 2001)

• Strategic vision and design/research-in-use: opens up critical and dynamic framework of analysis of change and continuity


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Indicative figures • £130 billion+ of UK business is conducted over the Internet

(2006)• 7 out of 10 businesses communicate with customers via their

website• 17 million adults manage their finances online• 50%+ of online 16-24 year olds use social networks• 18 million on Facebook• 20.4 million UK homes have digital TV• Britons send 1 billion text messages every week


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Another aspect• 11% don’t have a mobile phone

• 33% of UK households don’t have a home computer

• 39% of adults in the UK don’t use the internet

• 27% don’t yet have a digital TV, and 26% of those who do, have non-interactive forms of Digital Terrestrial TV

• 23% of children have never accessed the internet from home and 29% lack such access

• ?% - “do not want to, do not need to or have no interest”(DC10+)


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Technology, economic development and social policy • Reformist policies (social services and redistributive taxation) alternate with

reversal and retrenchment - connected with long cycles in the economy: greater inequality when new dominant tech spread through economic system (Freeman, 2000) (shown historically in cycles from 1780s)

• Kuznets hypothesis: growing inequality in innovation phase; mature economies show egalitarian trends

• Long swings in social policy and inequality

• Long waves and technology

• Growing inequality in periods of structural adjustment

• Importance of institutional change and progressive social policy in periods of socio-technical and economic change


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Digital divide - dynamics of inclusion and participation • Unequal levels of ICT access and skills that ‘adds a

fundamental cleavage to existing sources of inequality and social exclusion’ (Castells, 2001: 247)

• Riga Ministerial Declaration (11 June 2006): ‘e-inclusion’ to reduce gaps in ICT usage and to promote the use of ICT to overcome exclusion; Digital Britain & broadband

• Multi-dimensional character of exclusion/inclusion: call to address participation (Steinert & Pilgram, 2007) - cf. resources: infrastructure/capacity/support

• ‘To infrastructurize’ – Leigh Star


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Regions in the global networked economy

• The geography of the internet as ‘networked places’

• Metropolitan nodes and economy made up of very large, interconnected metropolitan areas

• Centred around a major central city, smaller urban centres gradually become absorbed in intra-metropolitan networks

• Regional metropolitan structure is dependent on transportation and communications, innovation milieu and skills - requires high quality communications infrastructure (Castells, 2001)

• Fragmented urbanisms (Graham & Marvin; Madanipour) - and regions can get ‘switched off’ (Castells, 2001)


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Next Generation Broadband: myths and research • Broadband Stakeholder Group with Tambini (LSE) - report

to bridge visionaries and sceptics (2008): wider social costs and benefits including:• Educated citizens, informed democracy, cultural understanding and

social inclusion, homeworking and impact on community and education, inclusion and disability, social capital, resilience and trust

But:

• Myths are created to mobilize new tech (Phaffenberger, 1988)

• Same narrative for ‘enhanced technology’ - but past research raises questions - what are the social frameworks?


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South Yorkshire Digital Region• Digital Region Ltd - special purpose vehicle (SPV) to manage the

Thales contract and promote demand across SY

• DRL is wholly owned by Yorkshire Forward and the four SY local authorities (Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster)

• Cost - majority of deployment 3 yrs: £94 million capital deployment: operational contract with Thales for 10 yrs and option for further 5 years

• All approvals in place: State Aid, EC, UK Government, local authorities (contract signed May 2009)

• Communications infrastructure: ‘next generation broadband’ - large open-access broadband infrastructure platform in municipal terms

• Vision: transform electronic communications across SY: significant impact on economic development, inward investment, capacity building

• Network integral to improving communications in public and private sectors: increased innovation, opportunities and greater social and economic inclusion


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What is Digital Region?• A high profile pilot for Next Generation Broadband Access - UK and beyond

• A significant ‘test bed’ infrastructure for market leaders in the digital economy

• An independent and wholesale network providing enhanced and flexible broadband capability serving the public and private sectors

• Capability for advanced applications:• Home monitoring• Health applications• Working from home• Enhanced video conferencing• Virtual classroom• Virtual shopping• Transfer of large data files• Interactive customer service (Project Director, Digital Region, Magna event

17/09/09)


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The context of South Yorkshire • Lost its industrial base of mining and steelmaking in the

1970s and 1980s, its economy continued to decline where GDP fell to less than 75% of the European average in the late 1990s. Uneven: poorest region in UK but with wealthy areas

• Objective 1 area at the Berlin Summit in 1999

• Statistical profile of the population map - some of the indicators suggest a risk of low take-up of ICT as identified by the Riga Dashboard study

• Regeneration is based on an information society/knowledge economy model – complex process


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Existing services & knowledge • E@syconnects - shared public and voluntary access (operational)

• South Yorkshire Public Sector E-forum (strategy)

• Uses multiple platforms: mobile phone, DiTV, home computers

• E-petitioning, Doctors appointments online, etc…

• 10 yr history of developing e-services, MITP programme - digital inclusion

• Has good creative/digital industries (Sheffield)

• Also e-campus; digital media centre; digital SMEs; Business innovation centres


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Areas to consider • Working from home

• Telecare

• Virtual classroom

• Cultural engagement

• Active participation in democratic process

• Innovation and local economy

• Everyday life - micro-management of time, e.g. remote mothering, domestication of techs, etc

• Previous research shows all are problematic


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Lessons from research: communicative practices show • Telework: gender, manage boundaries, long hours, isolation, lack of union protection

• Virtual classroom: supportive learning environment, little home resource and cultural capital need extra support

• Telecare - complex institutional and practice changes

• Creativity- innovation link - opportunity frameworks

• Hypermobility - issue of transport

• Political participation influenced by political culture of nation and region

• Therefore: what social policies to support these?


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General issues • Privacy and security in remote communications

• Authentication and digital signatures

• High value jobs vs. low skilled jobs (call centres, etc)

• Institutional and legal frameworks for networked organisation of commerce, public sector and innovation

• The online-offline relationship re. participation (politics, cultural, social and economic)

• Managing communication in everyday life - boundaries, flexibilities and mobility


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Concluding comments• Technology is part of the economic and social factors in

change

• Times of change can create greater inequalities, retrenchment in social policy

• High use of digital communication - research through communication practices across a range of contexts and people

• Strategic visions and applied research/design -in-use to shape inclusive digital region that include fostering innovation with supportive social policy

• http://www.shef.ac.uk/icoss/streams/iris.html

next generation broadband: shaping an inclusive digital region bridgette wessels university of...

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