Journalist, editor, analyst and trainer on computing, government, climate and data
Broadband is finally conquering rural areas – and just in time for many businesses, writes SA Mathieson
In 2003, the slow spread of rural broadband was a real issue for businesses in the countryside. It seemed that most people in Pinkney read the Telegraph or Mail, but they were kind enough to speak to me anyway. Another Guardian article on how telephone exchange-based broadband works here, with a 2012 update here. Continue reading “The country switches on”
David Blunkett’s plan for a national ID card has sparked a furious row. But will it work? And how? SA Mathieson investigates
This was written based on a relatively early version of the plans for ID cards in 2003. I wrote about the identity card scheme from 2002 through to its destruction in February 2011. All articles on ID cards.
Continue reading “Image problem”
SA Mathieson talks to the new e-commerce minister Stephen Timms
I interviewed then-new e-commerce minister Stephen Timms at the Labour conference in Blackpool in 2002 – he was pretty open and very knowledgeable on IT policy, given his background. He is still the Labour MP for East Ham, having served twice as chief secretary to the Treasury.
Continue reading “Hard wearing”
First published in Government Computing, September 2002
Orkney Island Council is the smallest full-service local authority in the UK, a unitary body that governs just 20,000 people on 17 inhabited islands.
It is also a place where they love the internet. A council survey last summer, which gathered responses from over 1,000 households, found that 44% had internet access with another 6% planning to go online by the end of 2002. The national equivalent last summer, according to Oftel, was 39%.
So it may come as a surprise that the council is planning to concentrate on video-conferencing, rather than its web-site, in providing electronic access to social services, housing and health.
Continue reading “Video ring to unite islanders: Orkney Island Council and videoconferencing”
First published in T3 magazine, July 2002
Both Korea and Japan are no doubt hoping that the world is admiring the work the two countries have put into their World Cup football stadia.
Korea pushed the boat out, spending 1.95 trillion won (£1.05 billion) on building all its ten stadia from scratch. But the Japanese city of Sapporo has come up with perhaps the most interesting technology.
Continue reading “Hitting the roof: the technology behind the world’s newest stadia”