The contract, awarded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, will lead to the creation of a central platform to enable local authorities to make services available via digital television, in line with the wider e-Government deadline set for 2005. The ODPM plans to have 12 councils participating in a pilot scheme by the end of the year, with the rest to follow, at their own pace.
Councils will be able to develop ditv micro-sites, featuring their own branding and services specific to their area, with voters able to make use of the return path technology to interact.
Local authorities will use a secure, web-based content management system to maintain their individual ditv site, and the government hopes they will add more and more services as local digital television penetration rises.
Those councils that take part in the pilot scheme will receive project support and will not incur any charges for the first six months. The Starter Kit was devised so as to keep costs to a minimum for those councils that choose to roll-out onto the ditv platform.
The ODPM also appointed Kudos to build a related website that offers project managers the chance to ask questions to ditv experts via a forum. The website launches at the end of September.
Quelle: NetImperative, 24.09.2003
