To judge by recent debates in parliament, in the media and across industry, at least part of the argument underpinning the interim Digital Britain report has been broadly accepted: digital technology, convergence and, in particular, broadband, has, over just five years, gone from being the province of the young or the geek to being a daily reality for most people, businesses and everyone involved in the communications industries.
We are in the middle of a quiet revolution that affects all of our lives, at home and at work. There is a recognition that this is important and that getting it right will matter: to our quality of life, our economy and our society in the future.
The interim report lays out the key issues for change and seeks to establish an evidence-based consensus on what needs to happen next: that government needs to work with the market to upgrade our networks - wired and wireless - so the benefits of next-generation broadband are available to most people; that in the meantime there is a floor - universal provision - of good-quality broadband for everyone; and that the content that goes over those networks is worthwhile. Great content doesn't just happen: content creators need to be properly rewarded; impartial news and quality journalism from many sources needs to be secured when the business models that sustained them in the old world have disappeared; and we need a second public-service provider of content across multiple platforms, with reach and scale, alongside the BBC.
We now move on from the "principles of public policy" stage to the "practicalities of design and implementation" stage. We need to do so with an urgency that matches the pace the changes in technology and market are imposing on us. That means taking the proposals in the interim report to firm recommendations on the detail of how and what, this side of the summer. The quality of the how and the what will depend upon active engagement by everyone in and around this critical sector. I am optimistic we can fund a delivery mechanism for universal service. However, for next-generation broadband networks, we need to do further work.
To sit on the sidelines and narrowly argue a case would be to display a crushing lack of understanding of the nature of the task and how to accomplish it, rather than merely ask for it.
