The Economic Impact of Broadband Accessibility in Birmingham

Introduction of Broadband

Generally, a broadband can be defined as a fast and reliable internet connection. Broadband is basically a term that is used for those internet connections that are always on. Broadband is an advanced form of technology that allows high-speed transfer of data and is linked with the emergence of the Internet.

Historical Background

The internet was accessed through dial-up means, but the demand of consumers and enterprises started the development of some advanced technologies that allow high-speed transfer of data. In the beginning of the mid-1990s, some telecommunications and cable TV companies started offering services, including the best broadband deals in Birmingham, that boosted the experiences of Internet use. But at that time, investment and adoption rose dramatically. In 2009, a large number of users-probably 1.8 billion people were using the Internet at that time, and around 4.71 million were enjoying broadband subscriptions. The newly emerging countries were also starting to invest in broadband technology. Since 2009, China has invested $7.44 billion in broadband.

Moving Forward

In recent years, Birmingham has a comparatively faster rate of digital inclusion. According to recent studies, the digital inclusion in Birmingham has now moved to 91.4% in 2019 from 88.6% in 2018. The number of digitally excluded is also decreasing day by day. According to a National Statistics Report released for Birmingham, the percentage has decreased from 11.2% to 8.6% and also expected to reduce more till now. In order to overcome digital exclusion, countries should focus on strategies like partnerships and coordination across all sectors.

Many initiatives have been implemented in Birmingham to support citizens, businesses, and communities to enjoy the advantage of the Internet and to adopt those skills that enhance their chances of life and business prospects. Despite these initiatives, some citizens and communities are still digitally excluded, which will lead to a deepening digital divide, due to which some groups are unevenly affected. Those groups are disabled people, people on means-tested benefits, and people from ethnic minority backgrounds are affected most.

The Banking Access in Birmingham and London

In this rapidly evolving digital connectivity era, banks are also going digital instead of being physical. With the advancement in technologies, banks in urban areas are shifting from physical to digital banking platforms. But there is a gap in the comprehensive study-scale analysis of digital banking accessibility for different demographic groups. Due to this gap, smart city design, decommissioning of physical branches, and digital infrastructure investment can be affected. In 2019, the trend of digital banking was noticed in the two major cities of the United Kingdom, Birmingham and London.

The Consumer Data Research Centre provides information about broadband quality, a classification of internet users, a critical factor in digital banking access, the Internet User Classification (IUC), and other major sources that frame the banking landscape of these major cities in the UK.

The Changing Panorama of Banking Access

According to a study, almost 50% of people in both Birmingham and London who are living in those areas that are underprivileged by physical banking infrastructure are in the IUC segment, which means they avail themselves of the facility of digital banking as compared to physical banking. But the rest of the UK citizens that lived in the areas of underprivileged physical banking infrastructure are older people and completely dependent on the physical banking infrastructure.

The banking accessibility keeps changing between different demographic groups, urban, and rural areas. Those areas that have high retired demographics and social deprivation suffer poor accessibility the most. This fact nominates the social and

Economic implications of digital transformation in the banking sector.

It is also revealed that the urban areas of both Birmingham and London are highly equipped for digital transformation as compared to the rural areas of these cities, regardless of the sectors in which the transformation is being held.

Socio-Economic Impacts of Broadband Accessibility

The following are some socio-economic impacts of broadband accessibility:

Jobs and Income

Huge investments in broadband infrastructure create jobs for employees in every sector or industry. Investments of approximately $5 billion create 100,000 jobs for citizens of that particular country. But job changes are concerned with high wages as broadband connectivity creates a relatively more dynamic job market.

Creating transparency in the demand for skills allows individuals to make the best possible choices in education and job searches.

Education

With the availability of broadband, students are able to complete their homework assignments without any struggles.

Broadband availability also provides access to high education and continued education to students who want distant learning, leading to higher literacy.

Broadband also provides advanced workforce certifications to workers.

Public Services

Broadband service allows individuals to be more informed and highly educated and provides an improved response to emergencies.

Broadband improved service delivery, including emergency response, education, healthcare, public safety, economics and workforce development.

Impact of Broadband in the United Kingdom

The following are some of the major impacts of broadband accessibility in the United Kingdom:

Economic Impacts

The following are some economic impacts of broadband adoption in the United Kingdom:

The broadband has material positive impacts for the national UK economy and international economies. The path to economic impact in the form of GDP growth consists of construction effects, which are associated with network construction and productivity growth through increased business innovation. The economic impact can also be through enhanced international trade and telemarketing that allows workers to utilise their time more efficiently. Some benefits are realised late and totally dependent on managerial skills and culture.

At local levels, the job-creation and net-enterprise creation impacts of broadband networks are positive, but at complex demographics and larger geographies, displacement and creative destruction effects make employment impacts more uncertain as compared to usual.

The faster broadband also has positive incremental economic impacts on gross domestic product, but in some areas the benefits of faster broadband access will need public sector investments or reorganisations in order to be identified. There is a clear difference between a high-speed broadband and a normal broadband.

Environmental Impacts

The following are some environmental impacts of broadband accessibility in the United Kingdom:

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is seen as a major source of carbon emissions. Broadbands are also a major consumer of energy, as faster broadbands emit heavy carbon radiation. That is why the energy efficiency of network technology is now rapidly improving. Therefore, ICTs, including broadband offer opportunities to reduce carbon emissions with the help of different strategies.

The faster broadbands around teleworking have positive environmental impacts, but they can be affected by some negative rebound effects. Reduced business travel and cloud computing are associated with positive environmental impacts.

The following are some social impacts of broadband accessibility in the United Kingdom:

Broadband internet has some positive social impacts in some areas, like entertainment, shopping, communication, health, learning, entertainment, and interactions with government. The beneficial use of the high-speed internet is associated with high levels of well-being.

The social impacts of fast broadband include an increase in the time spent consuming video entertainment and a significant increase in the use of video communications. In those areas that have poor levels of connectivity, the increase in the broadband speed will reduce the negative impacts on the utility of the web for the users that starts trend towards increased or large file size for webpages.

Benefits of Faster Speed Broadband

The enhancement in the speed of broadband provides:

Relatively fast file transfer; both sending and receiving files in short period of time.
Also enables video streaming applications.
High-quality communication in real-time.
Allowing users to use multiple applications and softwares at a time.

Facts about Birmingham

In 2019, approximately 8.6% of people in Birmingham had not been online for probably three consecutive months. But this percentage has been reduced from the previous data: 11.2% in 2018 and 39% in 2017. Along with such improvements, there is still a high level of digital exclusions in Birmingham.

In Birmingham, there are approximately 40,000 adults who have a learning disability, including 8,000 children. These people do not have access to any kind of digital devices, like laptops, PCs, tablets, etc. They have no means to connect to the Internet and learn some skills.
In Birmingham, 41% of children live in poverty, and there is a huge life expectancy gap between poor and rich communities.

Birmingham has a high unemployment rate of 15.3% as compared to the United Kingdom, which is 7.8%, and the West Midlands, which is about 9.8%.

Birmingham has been experiencing high rates of job losses due to economic downturns, which automatically lead to an increase in deprivation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, broadband is a type of technology or communication service that allows its users to easily access Internet services in their homes. The broadband technology allows its users to stay updated from the outside world by staying home. Many companies offer the best broadband deals in Birmingham to enhance the number of broadband users in their country.