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Momentum is gathering on extending broadband to rural Britain. The Local CIO Council is gathering intelligence about progress - let us know your experience.

It is good news to see momentum gathering on the UK's digital infrastructure, with funding being released by Broadband UK (BDUK) for early adopters and the selection of delivery partners for the national framework contracts. However, concerns have been expressed about lack of progress and difficulties with the procurement regime. The Local CIO Council would like to hear from Socitm members about their experience - please submit your comments in this blog or by email to martin.ferguson@socitm.gov.uk by cop Friday 13th January.

The background is that, on 15th December 2011, Culture Secretary,Jeremy Hunt, announced that draft plans for rolling out superfast broadband need to be submitted to the Government by the end of February.

Some, including Socitm, believe that the ambition of broadband for all has taken rather too long. This was known to be important to economic prosperity and social well-being over a decade ago - so why is it not enshrined in building regulations? Why do we not join up road and ducting projects? Why have we taken so long to make the connection between internet access in rural areas and jobs, education and business? Its not as if there were not examples across the world we could have followed.

That said, we should now put our support behind the government initiative. They have connected the economic imperative and the social benefits (e.g. Race Online 2012) and made a compelling case for broadband access for all, with funding being made available.

The funding is not sufficient for 100% coverage, but I am less worried about this than some. Achieving 90% coverage will be good, and the last 10% can follow with satellite, new technologies (eg reuse of the FM spectrum), greater wireless reach, reuse of public service networks and greater private sector investment.

There are some bigger challenges along the way. For example, reuse of existing infrastructure is essential to drive down costs and to make the investment go further. This includes ducts and public service networks. We should work together to make the most of these existing assets, overcoming legal and commercial barriers.

Take up will also be key - the higher the take up the more commercially viable the solution (reducing the dependency on public sector capital). Whilst it might be in the short term interest of suppliers to downplay the likely level of take up in order to encourage government intervention, we all have a common goal to maximise demand and adoption. And this means people need to be able to afford the service, be skilled enough to use it and then can then find something useful to do with it.

Securing matched funding by local authorities in the current climate is undoubtedly hard, especially since a business case which demonstrates tangible savings in public sector costs by a move to digital enabled by broadband is not always easy to make. But the benefits are significant, more so in times of financial difficulty.

In any country broadband is a vital part of a prosperous economy and it will increasingly underpin the UK's ability to compete. Small and large businesses alike demand access to good electronic services and communications. Being able to sell services on the internet can transform the prospects of smaller companies and this is especially important in rural areas where broadband is often poor or absent.

Communities benefit as well. Broadband access helps people to find jobs and creates employment opportunities. It helps children get access modern education resources. It opens up the choice and competitiveness of online shopping whilst promoting local services. It makes health advice and services available to everyone in ways never dreamed of 10 years ago, and on a more equal basis than geography would otherwise allow.

The national broadband programme must also be seen as part of the plans for public service reform, espoused in the Local CIO Council-Socitm Planting the Flag strategy. Digital delivery and channel shift are essential in becoming more efficient. Moreover, if people are to challenge their local public services and play a greater part in their delivery then they need access to information and tools to communicate, such as email. The Government is pushing for more public information and services to be available electronically, putting the public in control of their dealings with public services.

As a result, people will be able to take more personal responsibility and need less intervention from the state. We want our communities to take ownership and responsibility and everyone to be able to look after their own affairs and records where possible. And we want electronic public services to be designed around the citizen, not around our public institutions. People who do not have broadband access will therefore be disadvantaged in this new world, regardless or wealth or geography.

There will be more on this subject in the next Socitm Insight Briefing - look out for this at the end of January.

Jos Creese, Chair of Local CIO Council and Past President - Socitm

Martin Ferguson, Policy Director - Socitm