The UK government's digital communications infrastructure strategy will be debated at NextGen14 - a two-day event for next generation digital access, which will be hosted by Derby City Council on 11 and 12 November.
Mark Swarbrick, project director for digital communications infrastructure strategy at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, will discuss the key headlines of the proposed strategy.
Now in its seventh year, this year's NextGen agenda will have a focus on digital communities, smarter cities, connectivity and enterprise growth. Other themes include 5G, open data, privacy and municipal enterprise. The event will be moderated by Dr Julia Glidden, Founder and President of 21c Consultancy. Fabio Nasarre de Letosa from the European Commission will discuss the Commission's view on broadband developments in the UK and further afield.
Derby is a leading European 'City of the Future', and was ranked high in this year's fDi Intelligence shortlist. Derby City Council campaigned to host this year's national conference and expo.
The city boasts many high tech achievements, with 12 per cent of its workforce employed in high tech jobs. It is also home to leading international companies including Rolls Royce, Toyota Manufacturing UK and Bombardier. NextGen 14 will take place in the historic Silk Mill - the site of the first factory in the world.
Other speakers already announced include: Mark Collins, director of strategy and policy at CityFibre; Karin Ahl, president of the Fibre to the Home Council Europe; Helen Milner, CEO of the Tinder Foundation; and Chris Yiu, director at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and former head of the digital government unit at Policy Exchange.
