As entertainment, information and public services move increasingly online and across different platforms, the UK needs to ensure that citizens and consumers are not left behind.

Digital exclusion for the individual means being denied access to potential social and economic benefits. For the UK as a whole it means that we may not realise our potential in creating and exploiting a knowledge economy.
 
The creation of a digitally inclusive society is therefore a key strategic objective for the government and many of its agencies, as well as industry.

As part of this debate BSG looks to propose measures that will allow the UK to maximise the benefits of an inclusive broadband-enabled society.

Current work from the BSG in this area has examinined the role of public sector interventions in deploying next generation broadband, as part of its next generation broadband work programme. The final report of this work will be published at the BSG Conference 'Beyond Pipe Dreams? Prospects for next generation broadband in the UK'.

Recent developments in this area include the launch of Ofcom's Nations and Regions Communications Market Report 2008, which showed that a greater proportion of rural households have broadband than urban households. View the full report here.

Useful external links on this subject