A study published today by the London School of Economics (LSE) and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) has said that investing in Britain's digital infrastructure as the route to boosting the British economy.
The report, the "UK's Digital Road to Recovery", said that investing an estimated 15 billion into the UK's ICT industry would create, and more importantly sustain, 700,000 jobs - half of which would be created within small businesses.
This in turn would then create a "network effect" encouraging further jobs to be created, according to the report.
Robert Atkinson, president of the ITIF, said in a statement: "Nations that invest in ICT to transform fields like transportation and energy reap substantial long-term economic and social benefits."
"This report shows that these investments also have a short-term impact by producing the jobs and economic growth the UK needs to get out of the current recession."
The research was supported by IBM and identified broadband networks, intelligent transport systems and the smart power grid as key areas to focus the investment on - IBM is heavily involved in the first two areas.
The research authors' recommendations to Government is that it should "lead the investment of extra money through a mixture of direct spending, tax incentives and regulatory changes that spur increased private sector investment in these key parts of the digital infrastructure."
