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The future of the UK Broadband landscape had its last major change in 2009 when the Digital Britain report was published, and the current BDUK projects are the visible legacy from that report. A House of Lords Select Committee was created in early 2012 to report on the progress of Superfast service roll-outs in the United Kingdom, and a large batch of evidence was released in April 2012. Now the final report entitled Broadband for all - an alternative vision has been published, and we have gone through the report to see what changes are proposed.

 This report explores key trends and challenges to the right of all individuals to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of  all kinds through the  Internet. The Special Rapporteur underscores the unique and transformative nature of the Internet not only to enable individuals to exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression, but also a range of other human rights, and to promote the progress of society as a whole. Chapter III of the report underlines the applicability of international human rights norms and standards on the right to freedom of opinion and expression to the Internet as a communication medium, and sets out the exceptional circumstances under which the dissemination of certain types of information may be restricted. Chapters IV and V address two dimensions of Internet access respectively: (a) access to content; and (b) access to the physical and technical infrastructure required to access the Internet in the first place. More specifically, chapter IV outlines some of the ways in which States are increasingly censoring information online, namely through: arbitrary blocking or filtering of content; criminalization of legitimate expression; imposition of intermediary liability; disconnecting users from Internet access, including on the basis of intellectual property rights law; cyberattacks; and inadequate protection of the right to privacy and data protection. Chapter V addresses the issue of universal access to the Internet. The Special Rapporteur intends to explore this topic further in his future report to the General Assembly. Chapter VI contains the Special Rapporteur's conclusions and recommendations concerning the main subjects of the report.  

In the middle of last year, the hacking group Anonymous tried but failed to attack various Vatican Internet servers. A report that was just released by Imperva shows the extent of their prowess, and is a blueprint for other corporate security managers who want to try to protect their own networks in the future from miscreants. While the report itself doesn't divulge the destination of the attack, it has been widely reported by the New York Times and other news outlets that it was the Vatican.

"he international 'digital divide' is closing as a steady fall in worldwide costs of telephone and broadband Internet services has enabled a number of developing countries to expand their access to information and communication technology (ICT), the United Nations telecoms agency says in a report released today. Measuring the Information Society 2012, produced by the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU), says that developing countries now account for the "lion's share" of market growth in the mobile sector, according to an ITU press release detailing the report. The report also shows that the ICT sector has not only become a major contributor to economic growth, but is especially so in developing countries, where global exports of ICT goods accounted for 20 per cent of their merchandise trade in 2010, compared to 12 per cent world wide. "While prices in developed economies have stabilized, those in developing countries continue to fall at double-digit rates," ITU stated in a news release on the report. But, ITU said, the digital divide - generally defined as the difference in levels of ICT access between developed and developing countries - remains significant."

Akamai's globally distributed network of servers allows us to gather massive amounts of  information on many metrics, including connection speeds, attack traffic, and network  connectivity/availability/latency problems, as well as traffic patterns on leading Web sites.  Each quarter, Akamai publishes a "State of the Internet" report. This report includes data  gathered from across Akamai's Intelligent Platform during the third quarter of 2011 about attack  traffic, broadband adoption, and mobile connectivity, as well as trends seen in this data  over time. In addition, this quarter's report also includes insight into SSL, the state of IPv6  adoption, and observations from Akamai partner Ericsson regarding the impact that mobile  data plans have on usage. 

"Here is an overview of valuable, free books and reports related to open innovation, co-creation and crowdsourcing. Drop a comment if you know of other books, reports, or longer articles that are available for free and worth sharing."

Politics Transformed: The High Tech Battle for Your Vote is an in-depth look at how social media and digital tech is changing the way we choose our leaders. In it, Mashable reporters uncover how the campaigns are utilizing massive stores of data gathered through social networks to better target political advertising, how crowdfunding could shake up campaign finance, and we meet the masterminds shaping the digital best practices for electoral politics. We report on how watchdog groups are using social media to protect the vote, why social media has put even more heat on candidates to stay on-message, and ask whether voting over the Internet will ever be safe. In spite of its massive and unprecedented growth, we're only just beginning to figure out what it means to be social online, and political strategists are still in the early stages of figuring out what social media can and can't do. The trend is clear, however: digital will be an ever more important factor as each new election cycle rolls around. We can't know yet what the future might hold for social media and politics, but here's how social is changing things right now.

The use of e-health technologies, including mobile health, is spreading rapidly in low- and medium-income countries around the world, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). In part, this is because the use of mobile phones and computers is growing in these developing nations, the report said. But less than a quarter of the surveyed health programs used e-health technologies, and their reliance on private donors -- which provided nearly half of their financing -- is one factor limiting their expansion, the WHO report said.

The government posted its Reports on Plans and Priorities for dozens of departments and agencies yesterday. The Industry Canada report makes for interesting reading as there is a section on the still missing Digital Economy Strategy that includes targets for e-commerce buying and selling in Canada. The department states: Industry Canada will continue to implement measures in support of the Digital Economy Strategy to accelerate adoption of digital technologies, promote trust and confidence in the online marketplace and foster a globally competitive ICT sector based on a modern legislative framework, a robust digital infrastructure and a digitally skilled workforce. Leaving aside the fact that there is no digital economy strategy - or at least the government has still not released the long overdue document - the report also includes a target to determine whether the Canadian online economy is "governed by an effective policy and regulatory framework." The government's performance indicator is the percentage of Canadians buying and selling online, with the targets set at 43% of Canadians buying and 15% selling.

"I read a lot of reports on how to encourage broadband adoption. There are three kinds of reports - one focuses on getting folks at the far end of the digital divide to use technology, one focuses on creating super users (think GigU) and the other encourages average users to use more broadband - or faster broadband. No Field of Dreams: Eliminating the Waiting Game and Driving Uptake focuses on the upping the use mainstream users. Well, more specifically, it focuses on how to get those users to upgrade their subscriptions to fiber. Or as they say in the report to get customers to put their money where the providers mouth is."

In 2001, when the World Economic Forum first published  The Global Information and Technology Report (GITR),  the dot-com bubble had just burst; there were fewer than  20 million mobile phone users in all of Africa; and Apple  Inc.'s product line was confined to Macintosh computers.  That Report presented an optimistic view of the future,  highlighting the transformational potential of information  and communication technologies (ICT) in advancing the  progress of global society and business. In the decade  that followed, Booz & Company has witnessed firsthand  the realization of that potential in its work with clients and  communities worldwide and through its long-standing  involvement with the GITR. Today there are more than  500 million mobile phone subscribers in Africa, and  Apple is the world's largest company in market capitalization, producing iPhones, iPods, and iPads along with  Mac computers. Despite the strides the sector has made  since the technology bust in 2001, however, we believe  we are only just beginning to feel the impact of digitization-the mass adoption by consumers, businesses, and  governments of smart and connected ICT. Success in the digitization world-where competitors from Shenzhen to Schengen can emerge seemingly  overnight-requires policymakers and business leaders  to go back to the drawing board to identify and build  "right-to-win" capabilities in their spheres of influence.  Digitization is more than a matter of access. Our recent  research shows that digitization multiplies the impact of  connectivity, creating substantial incremental value in  terms not only of job creation and economic growth, but  also of societal well-being and government transparency.  Today, more than 70 percent of the world's citizens live in  societies that have just begun their digitization journeys.  As the individuals and enterprises in these societies  continue to progress in developing their own digitiza

The Global Internet Phenomena Report: 1H 2012 shines a light on fixed and mobile data networks around the world,  identifying facts, fads, and the future trends that will shape the Internet's future. Within this report, we present a  mix of high-level observations, regional-focused analysis, deep-dives into specific subjects, and educational tidbits.   Communications service providers (CSPs) in particular are in the position to act on this information, but we believe  that the findings will be of interest to a wide range of readers.   

Watch out! Internet connections worldwide may have been slower past weekend! Last weekend hundreds of hackers, programmers, designers and anti-corruption experts and activists in Bogotá, Budapest, Casablanca, Jakarta, Moscow and Vilnius gathered last weekend to develop new ICT tools that can help citizens monitor government and report corruption. Websites like ipaidabribe.com in India and use of twitter in events like the Arab Spring have shown that technology can be a powerful vehicle for people power. Hacks Against Corruption (HAC) is Transparency International's first attempt to bring together technology and anti-corruption specialists to use technology to come up with some of the challenges we face in fighting corruption: visualising the cost of corruption, monitoring complex, massive public budgets and allowing citizens to safely report corruption in their life.

"We live in an age of sharing. As consumers and online, we regularly share personal information, and generate new data through our browsing or purchasing history. Businesses and government are increasingly aware of the value of this information, which can result in better and cheaper services for customers, new sources of income for businesses and improved public services. But the question of who owns this information, and how it is collected, stored and used, is becoming a major consumer rights issue. It is crucial, therefore, that people are at the heart of any new settlement. The Data Dialogue sets out the results of the largest ever poll of public attitudes on personal information and data- sharing. Based on a representative sample of 5,000 adults, the report finds a growing crisis in consumer confidence over how government and business handle personal data, and discomfort about the way in which personal information and data are currently being used. The report argues that this loss of confidence could have a knock-on effect on the economy and on the quality of services available to consumers. However, it also finds that views about sharing change when people are given more control and choice about what data is shared, and when the benefit of sharing that data is made clear to them. It therefore suggests that consumers should be engaged in an honest dialogue about how data are collected and used, and be given meaningful choice and control over the information they share. That will be good for business and consumers alike."

"The American Library Association (ALA) released a report earlier this year entitled The 2012 State of America's Libraries. The report states that "Facebook and Twitter in particular have proven themselves useful tools not only in publicizing the availability of online collections, but also in building trusted relationships with users.""

"A new report by Moody's Investors Service suggests that while MOOCs' exploitation of expanded collaborative networks and technological innovation will benefit higher education in the United States as a whole, their long-term effect on the for-profit sector and smaller not-for-profit institutions could be damaging. MOOCs - massive open online courses - have garnered considerable attention since Stanford University's artificial intelligence course in the autumn 2011 semester attracted nearly 160,000 students. While the course's completion rate was low (15.6%), the scale of the response excited many in the higher education community - from institutions to venture capital companies. Indeed, the report notes that MOOCs represent a "pivotal development" in the evolution of higher education and have the potential to revolutionise the way a centuries-old industry has operated."

"BT is investing £2.5bn to roll-out superfast broadband to two-thirds of UK consumer and business premises by the end of 2014. Regeneris Consulting was commissioned to assess the potential economic benefits of BT's investment in superfast broadband for businesses and focussed on four case study areas: A rural area in the UK: Norfolk and Suffolk A UK town: Caerphilly A UK city: Sunderland The capital city: London The report and its observations builds on Regeneris' experience in the production of number of studies assessing the economic impact of broadband investments throughout the UK. Their work has informed business planning and bid development, including a number of the current crop of BDUK projects and projects to help secure investment from European funding sources. The 'Key Facts regarding BT's investment in Broadband' and the 'Summary of key observations' from the report are below. "

With the increasing digitization of healthcare, the trend of "Big Data" has been gathering steam. According to a new report from digital health consultancy DrBonnie360, there is an estimated 50 petabytes of data in the healthcare realm. That's predicted to grow, by a factor of 50, to 25,000 petabytes by 2020. The report, which I've summarized in this post, does an outstanding job of profiling the leading products utilizing Big Data in healthcare.

High-speed affordable broadband  connectivity to the Internet is  essential to modern society, offering  widely recognized economic and  social benefits (Annex 1). The  Broadband Commission for Digital  Development promotes the adoption  of broadband-friendly practices and  policies for all, so everyone can take  advantage of the benefits offered by  broadband.  With this Report, the Broadband  Commission expands awareness  and understanding of the importance of broadband networks,  services, and applications for  generating economic growth and  achieving social progress.  It has been written collaboratively,  drawing on insightful and thoughtprovoking contributions from our  leading array of Commissioners and  their organizations, foremost in their  fields. This Report is structured around  four main themes which can  help us to realize the potential of  broadband 

The report presents the ICT Development Index (IDI), which ranks countries' performance  with regard to ICT infrastructure and uptake, and the ICT Price Basket (IPB), a unique metric  that tracks and compares the cost and affordability of ICT services. This edition also features  new data series and analyses concerning revenue and investment in the ICT sector, and  proposes a new methodology using non-conventional data, to measure the world's  telecommunication capacity.  The past year has seen continued and almost universal growth in ICT uptake. Much of this enhanced connectivity is due to  the rapid uptake - a 40 per cent rise in 2011 - of mobile-broadband subscriptions, to the point where there are now twice  as many mobile-broadband as fixed-broadband subscriptions. The surge in numbers of mobile-broadband subscriptions  in developing countries has brought the Internet to a multitude of new users. The report nevertheless notes that the prices  for ICT services remain very high in many low-income countries. For mobile broadband to replicate the mobile-cellular  miracle, 3G network coverage has to be extended, and prices have to go down further.