On 09 June 2008 the BSG held its 2008 Conference 'Beyond Pipe Dreams? Prospects for Next Generation Broadband in the UK'.

The conference brought together over 250 delegates from a variety of stakeholders, including representatives from ISPs, content providers, rights holders, consultants, analysts, investors, the regulator, public sector bodies, and the voluntary sector, as well as the Caio review team.

The event produced many lively debates, building on the launch at the conference of two new pieces of research by the BSG:

• A Framework for Evaluating the Value of Next Generation Broadband more>>
• Models for efficient and effective public sector interventions in next generation broadband access networks more>>

The presentations from the event can be found below.

Session 1: How valuable might next generation broadband be for the UK?

• Benoit Felten, Yankee Group - Fiber to the World
• Antony Walker, BSG - Will next generation broadband deliver next generation benefits?

Session 2: The investment case for next generation networks 

• Richard Allan, Cisco - 21st Century Broadband
• Amit Sharma, Ingenious Consulting - Is there a robust business case for investment in next generation broadband

Session 3: Regulating for next generation access

• Peter Phillips, Ofcom
• Nigel Hickson, BERR - Regulating for next generation access
• Robin Foster, independent advisor

Session 4: What role for the public sector?

• Ofcom Consumer Panel Video - Across the generations: contrasting experiences of broadband
• Matt Yardley, Analysys Mason - Models for efficient and effective public sector intervention in next generation broadband access networks