Building the Knowledge Society - Department of Communications ...

Building the Knowledge Society Information Society Commission 63Recommendation 58:The NDA should establish a monitoring process to determine levels of compliance withthe IT Accessibility Guidelines and whether further actions may be needed to promotetheir adoption.DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television)It is clear that the digital television has important potential to support greater access tonew online content and services through a medium that is user-friendly and already a familiarhousehold appliance. Government had intended that the DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television)platform be introduced in Ireland by two separate transactions – the selection of a DTTmultiplex licensee, and the sale of the RTÉ transmission network. In the light of the unsuccessfuloutcome to the competition to select the multiplex licensee, Government needs to develop anew strategy for the DTT platform as quickly as possible.Recommendation 59:The Minister for Communications should bring forward new proposals for the DTT(Digital Terrestrial Television) platform as a matter of priority.4.7\ Northern Ireland CooperationThe Commission welcomes the all-island cooperation underway through InterTradeIrelandin the exchange of information on trade, business development and related matters, andspecifically in the areas of telecommunications, information technology and electronicbusiness. A key initiative is the Digital Island concept, developed in liaison with the Departmentof Enterprise, Trade and Employment in Dublin and the Department of Enterprise, Trade andInvestment in Belfast, and aimed at seeking the fullest exploitation of digital technologiesby businesses across the island.The Commission also sees value in extending cooperation beyond the enterprise sectorin identifying shared challenges associated with the emerging knowledge society, includingissues such as e-government, e-health, e-learning and addressing the digital divide.Recommendation 60:The benefits of all-island cooperation insofar as the enterprise sector is concerned shouldcontinue to be pursued through InterTradeIreland. The value of extending all-islandcooperation to knowledge society issues that go beyond the scope of the enterprise sectorshould also be explored, and the Commission will be including a focus on this issue in thecontext of its ongoing work programme.