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Paul Hide, director of operations, comments on the BBC Charter Green Paper

Following the publication of the consultation paper on the BBC Charter Review, Paul Hide, director of operations at techUK commented:

"Technology has had a profoundly positive impact on our lives over the last decade. In the context of the media world, the way people are watching TV, listening to radio and consuming content and services have changed dramatically – with widespread internet access making on-demand, on-the-go access to content and services more and more available.

"This is a positive opportunity to make sure that the next BBC Charter fully takes into account the impact of technological advances. As one of the largest and most innovative public service broadcasters in the world, the BBC is capable of having a significant impact on the UK consumer technology market. Decisions taken by the BBC with regards to technology roadmaps and distribution methods not only have an impact on the cost of devices and services enjoyed by UK consumers, but on the very competitiveness and sustainability of the UK technology sector itself. Just as the BBC has a remit to support the UK creative economy, a similar such remit for the tech economy must be included in the new Charter.

"We also believe that it is in the interest of licence fee payers and viewers that the BBC should look to European and Global common standards and platforms, particularly relating to Digital Terrestrial TV, on which to deliver their content and not develop bespoke UK-specific technologies that drive up unnecessary additional cost.

The review of the scale and scope of the BBC must take into account these issues to ensure that the BBC supports the wider creative and digital industries."

techUK will be inviting members to join a workshop that will allow a collective discussion and input as techUK prepares a response to the consultation.