Digital Britain: An opportunity for the channel?

The unveiling yesterday of Lord Carter of Barnes’ Digital Britain report, as expected, committed the Government – which is likely to accept the report’s recommendations – to a policy of broadband for all by 2012.
The policy, which is expected to cost in the region of £3bn to roll out fast internet access nationwide, also commits the Government to investing in next generation broadband technologies too, specifically the installation of fibre optic networks in otherwise commercially unviable areas of the country.

Granted, there are holes to be picked in the report, yet nonetheless, there’s surely a significant opportunity to the channel in the midst of all of this. Given the maturity and commoditisation of the desktop and now laptop PC, many resellers had been looking for alternative ways to generate income. In the Digital Britain report, there are two possible avenues.

Firstly, there’s involvement in the provision of internet services and technologies, which are going to be opened up to a greater number of people over the coming years. There’s still a large chunk of Britain that’s resisted, or been unable to sign up for, fast Internet, and with the infrastructure investments incoming, there’s an opportunity to entice those customers. The stumbling block here will be the hold that a few Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have over the market, but even so, even in the past year or so, smaller ISPs have managed to carve out a niche, and there’s also the option to white box Internet-related services.

Then there’s the basic need for a computer. Margins may have been decimated in the sector over the past decade, but the fact remains that the vast majority of people who will be using the Internet will do so through a desktop or laptop PC. Where there’s a computer sale, there are associated services, and it’s in providing a fully rounded solution to end customers where the channel tends to excel.

Finally, the move towards fibre optic could suggest the widening of the premium web access market, again bringing in customers who are willing to spend more to get the best service they can. Ultra-fast broadband lines open up further opportunities beyond the ability to download YouTube clips a bit faster, and again, they need effective technology to go hand in hand with the faster services being offered.

Thus far, most of the headlines from Digital Britain are regarding the 50p per month levy being added to phone bills to help foot the bill. But in the detail of the report could well be a long term shot in the arm for the channel, too.