Timms acknowledges that broadband has become one of the essential service than luxury for the UK people of the late, and it was also improving the country’s commercial, social and economic benefits. The market, according to him, has become more competitive and 99 per cent of the country was enjoying the goodness of the network. However, he also admits that despite many in the country enjoying the benefits of the network, weak services as well as variable broadband speeds apart from the graver fact that many parts of the country were yet to get services, prove to be the spoilsport.

A better broadband for rural Britain has been highlighted by the the broadband fraternity of the United Kingdom unanimously. Under this circumstance it is interesting that Timms has claimed that the government has come up with an agenda of ensuring broadband service to every households and businesses in the country through their Universal Service Commitment. The Universal Broadband plan has been highlighted with a 2Mbps broadband service, which helps the customers to do business at a better pace and learn more effectively. Presently about 2.75 million households that live in remote areas are not able to get this 2Mbps service, which is a demerit according to the minister.

The Digital Britain minister also avers that the government wanted to make it clear that they have taken the 2Mbps broadband rollout in the rural areas the priority work for which they have earmarked a rural broadband rollout fund of GBP 20 million. Tims reveals that the government feels that it is unjust to ignore the rural Britain when urban areas reap the benefits of the broadband revolution. The government plans to set up a small company for designing a model to deliver favorable network at maximum value for its customers, with a view to get the best of the public investment. According to him the best solution was to go in for a fibre connections which is more effective in those areas that are called the cluster broadband notspots.

He claims that the Universal Commitment guarantees that there would not be another problem of digital exclusion as faster broadband networks will be distributed to certain parts of the country. The minister also does not hide his feeling that 2Mbps was not the limit and they were chiefly aiming for a next generation superfast fibre optic broadband network, which would be also be their ultimate goal. Timms has given in the article that he also felt that by the next few years they could rollout a super fast broadband network service to about two thirds of the United Kingdom.

The Digital Britain minister also appreciated the network upgrade works of Virgin Media and the intents of the prominent fixed-line broadband provider in the UK, BT to bring fibre services by 2012 to ten million homes, in the article. According to him, these works performed by smaller networks showed that the United Kingdom was hardly being left behind. Nevertheless, because of the involved high expenditure it was impossible to bring coverage to each rural area without the help of public fund back up and to realise this dream, a positive action was needed from the government, Timms revealed.

Timms also declared that Digital Britain was planning to deliver the next generation broadband service within a decade to nine to ten UK households, and the government was planning to raise the funds by collecting an extra 50p monthly tax on fixed line phone bills. The minister concludes saying that the government also plan to join hands with the community groups to see that the digital divide is bridged.

Stephen Timms has previously been employed with analyst company Ovum and Logica before donning the role of the e-commerce minister of the country. As a matter of fact, in his new assignment, he will be engaged across the Business, Skills and Innovation department and the Treasury.

Timms will assume the charge of the GBP 6 per year levy implementation plans which is to cover all the phone lines in the country, with a view to pay for super fast broadband networks. He will also be looking into the proposal put forth by the outgoing communications minister Lord Carter, by which all the households in the UK would be provided with a 2Mbps broadband connection by 2012.

Timms who is expected to introduce before the parliament a Digital Economy bill in the autumn, is also believed to being brought in to revitalise the almost stale Digital Britain proposals. According to the Guardian, the report’s content had lost its sheen considerably after Lord Carter had, shortly prior to the publishing of it, announced his stepping down from the minister’s post.

Carter, who had his schooling at Currie High School Edinburgh (1982-87) had his LLb Hons graduation from the Aberdeen University. He also had stints at the London Business School in 1995, and Harvard Business School in 1997. He started his working career as a trainee with J Walter Thompson UK, an advertising agency. His saga of excellence began here, as he rose to the position of Managing Director of the firm in 1995, and a couple of years later was made the Chief Executive of the company.

One of the major turning points in his working career happened when he took over as Chief Operating Officer of NTL, a UK-based cable TV company, in 2000. Alongside, guiding the firm to a leading position in the broadband market of the UK, he also learned the nuances of the broadband segment of the country. This term probably would had helped him to a large extent, in coping with the pressures of the more demanding tasks he undertook in the following years.

It was in 2003 that Carter was appointed Ofcom’s first chief executive. However, he stepped down from the UK media watchdog’s prime post in 2006, only to assume the prime post at Brunswick Group, whose major clients included BT Group, British Airways, EMI and BP. From here he experienced a steep rise in fortunes, as he was requested by Gordon Brown to take over as the latter’s strategy chief as well as 10 Downing Street’s principal adviser.

Lord Stephen Carter was named the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for technology, communications and broadcasting in 2008 October, after having created Baron and consequently introduced in the House of Lords. Currently, his service has been distributed in the DCMS and DBIS, besides in the National Economic Council of the Prime Minister After his assuming the post of the communications minister, his main responsibilitis were; Digital Brtain, Digital Switchover, Broadcasting policy and Digital Bill.

Of the lot, the Digital Britain concept, which was all about a strategic vision to ensure that the UK appeared at the forefront of the world digital economy, was the predominant one. He had an interim report released on January 29, 2009 that included hints to many relevant aspects such as internet regulation, public service broadcasting and speeds of broadband servicein the country. However, the real concept as well as the visions of the government on the context was published by him on June 16 2009, as the final Digital Britain report.

The other two prioritised responsibilities of Lord Carter, namely broadcasting and digital switchover, referred to; working in tandem with the regulators broadcasting industry, listeners and viewers to ensure a healthy competition, to step up choice of the viewers and to maintain quality and standards of the programmes, and the comprehensive switchover of the broadcasting system of the country into digital mode that is an enhanced way of transmitting pictures and sound by converting them into computerised data.

Lord Carter, on June 11 2009, virtually shocked a large section of the populace by announcing his stepping down from the ministerial post, after his publishing the final Digital Britain report. This news was leaked to the press, despite the intention of the government to keep it confidential. Lord Carter’s resignation proposal has, as a matter of fact, evoked mixed reactions in the country. While a good number of tech-wizards has always tended to treat his visions and achievements grimly, it is also apparent that the commoner had faith in his otherwise prudent 2Mbps broadband for all plan, which was mutilated to a good extent by the saboteurs.