Scottish Government

8 Leading Government DiTV initiatives

This section explores a number of current Government DiTV trials to include those ran by Central Government departments and leading local authority initiatives. It outlines various factors for their success or other that impact their potential for further development. At the end of Section 8 are two tables that score these against the Scottish Executive DiTV initiative.

8.1 Department of Health ( DH): NHS Direct TV

The Department of Health ( DH) has invested more time and money than most in researching the potential for DiTV for public sector electronic service delivery ( ESD). This led to the introduction of NHS Direct TV which continues to operate today.

8.1.1 Pilots

Between 2001 and 2003, DH conducted four DTV pilots:

• Living Health
• Channel Health
• Communicopia
• DKTV ( A different kind of TV).

Significantly, DH used these to explore different platforms' capabilities and ability to support different services against NHS Direct requirements.

The four DiTV pilots offered distinctive services. Although there were some overlapping features, each had many distinctive qualities. These included the type of platform on which the service was transmitted, the amount and nature of content, the presentation formats used, and the degree of interactivity offered.

Living Health transmitted a largely text-based health information service to Telewest cable television around 50,000 subscribers in Birmingham, together with an experimental GP appointments' booking service and InVision - a video nurse from an NHS Direct call-centre who appeared on the caller's TV screen as they spoke to each other over the telephone.

Communicopia presented a mixed text-based and VOD health information service branded as NHS Direct Digital and transmitted over a broadband telephone network operated by Kingston Interactive Television ( KIT) in Hull. The operator also provided users with an interactive online medical records-keeping service, which focused on immunisation records.

Channel Health presented a text-based information service linked to special broadcasts in its regular schedule on the Sky Digital platform. It majored on the theme of maternity issues and experimented, on a local basis, with a package of other interactive services for pregnant women comprising mainly e-mail support links between users and health professionals.

DKTV, via a broadband service, offered interactive links to community health services together with videos on health issues accessible through the TV set.

A maternity advice programme entitled Bush Babies, broadcast by Channel Health was broadcast nationally, and the three others provided strong regional coverage (London, Birmingham, and Hull).

8.1.2 Research findings

This section outlines the key findings from post trial research conducted on behalf of the DH by City University. Research concentrated on Living Health and NHS Direct Digital services where approximately 17,417 users and 760,219 page views were investigated.

DiTV viewers used the platforms for health information services and this use was associated with positive outcomes. The extent of use appeared to be limited by the services menu prominence; other limiting features are the inability to print out information, something overlooked by system designers.

Most users were helped in understanding more about their condition. Health information users on DiTV were about twice as likely to use information as a substitute for a visit to the doctor compared to users who had not used the service.

Just under a third of the DiTV users used DiTV information health service. They were likely to look at a lot of pages in a session and assumed to be due them using the service in a home environment and at a time that suited them ( i.e. It was convenient).

DiTV appeared to offer users from lower socio-economic groupings a chance to access health information. There was also some evidence that men in the 20s - a DH target group - might view the service in the early morning. A variety of subjects were viewed, however, it became apparent that DiTV users were much more likely to view health topics of a personal and possibly embarrassing ( i.e. sexual) nature. Some industry pundits attributed this to young teenagers accessing risky content for fun rather than actually requiring the services.

Use of transactional true two way interactive services was disappointing to say the least. The available applications included visual interpersonal communication with an NHS nurse (Living Health - Invision (Broadband Nurse), online appointments booking with one's GP, and the maintenance of personal medical details online, in this instance personal immunisation records. In addition, one consortium tested a small-scale e-mail support service for a specific group - pregnant women.

With regard to accessing the "broadband nurse" service, take up was extremely disappointing. Only 163 users (both citizens and nurses) from a potential audience of 38,000 in four months chose to use this.

The Living Health - GP Surgery Bookings Service also received extremely low usage with just 30 people making an online appointment with their doctor over a period of six months. This can in part be attributed to only three surgeries being in the pilot and one of these showed little interest in the experiment. The service was also difficult to use.

The NHS Direct Digital - vaccination service accounted for just 0.14% use as no more than 28 used the service. This may be as a result of the users being required to enter all relevant personal details.

DiTV users recorded an average session time of about six minutes, About 57% of DiTV health information service users went on to view 11 or more pages and 39% went on to view over 20 pages.

For all platforms there was a tendency for women under the age of 55 to be major users. This changed after 55 when men took a more active role in searching for health information. Older people, those over 75, were - also unsurprisingly - less likely to take up online systems compared to other users. In part this was due to them considering themselves not being adept with technology and in part because they preferred their advice coming from medical professionals.

DiTV demands certain sophistication in navigating a series of menus. It is important to note that for many elderly people, and also for others not familiar with the Internet, using Web derived metaphors such as 'Home' may not be appropriate.

DiTV tended to be used by lower socio-economic groupings. Lower income groups were twice as likely to use the health information service compared to higher income groups.

Prior experience with technology can have a profound effect on the willingness and ability of people to engage with online health information systems. Those who already owned DiTV solutions were not surprisingly more active users of the medium for the pilot services.

As always content appeared to be king. DiTV proved to be more popular than the Internet or Kiosk alternatives. This was in part attributed that the DiTV service being a single source of information and more authoritive. Unlike the Internet it was not prone to providing many sources and possibly contradictory or misleading information. However, 40% of DiTV users said they would not necessarily trust the information provided.

Using with an audience is a problem. Users were more willing to use a service for certain types of embarrassing content, the greater the privacy offered. This suggests that the best place for viewing much health information is in the home. DiTV was well regarded in this context - possibly slightly more than the Internet where there were concerns that others could hack into the viewer's navigation choices etc.

Questionnaire returns suggested that elderly people did not consider themselves to be competent in using new technology, and this impacted on their use DiTV. For example, older NHS Direct Digital users, particularly women aged over 55, said in questionnaire returns that they found the service difficult to use, however the percentages saying this were a lot smaller compared to those older users using the kiosk based alternative.

There were other factors exacerbating inequality in use by age. A reluctance to obtain and use information from any sort was found, both from interviews with elderly people and from health professionals who dealt with them. This appears to be partly because they were not used to living in an 'information age', in which it was common for younger people to seek out their own information. This was partly due to deference to their GPs, and partly due to a kind of fatalism with regard to the technology.

This City University report found that a good deal of evidence to support the belief that DiTV could be the best platform for delivering health based information services to the population. It says that DiTV appears to reach a broader audience and its use is less inhibited than other platforms. However care needs to be taken with regard to the positioning of services and nomenclature. Using terms derived from the Internet ('Home page' etc.) may not be appropriate in the short term, where a significant proportion of DiTV users may not have experience with the Internet.

The intensive research by the DoH in the pilots culminated in the launch of the NHS Direct Interactive TV service going live in December 2004. Despite the use of the word "Interactive" in the name, the service was launched as an information only service in the short term with plans to introduce more interactive elements later.

£5 million per year has been invested for the next three years in NHS Direct Interactive which will cover the cost of running the service across all the main digital TV platforms. This amounts to roughly 10p per year for each person in the country (or about 20p per current digital TV viewer per year). The service is available to digital satellite viewers only at the moment and carries about 3000 pages of content ranging from:

• An A-Z of health related issues, including hundreds of topics covering illnesses and conditions such as flu, diabetes, coronary heart disease etc;
• Advice on looking after yourself, on diet and nutrition, on exercise, on quitting smoking and on sexual health;
• Video clips on a range of health topics;
• Tips on how to use the NHS - such as how to register with a GP;
• There are no two way interactive elements currently. Sky viewers can access the service by pressing the interactive button on their Sky remote control and scrolling down the menu and selecting ' NHS Direct Interactive'.

8.2 KiT - Hull

Kingston Communication's interactive TV service in Hull is a leading exponent of localized services, especially when their own dedicated telecoms network infrastructure in Hull lends itself to such formats.

A particularly successful application has been one that enables local schools to have an individual presence on screen and to create TV programmes to be carried on the Kingston Interactive TV service ( KiT).

Such has included the school nativity play or pantomimes. The children involved bring pressure to their parents to get the service so that they can be "seen on telly".

Children's paintings and artwork has been displayed in a virtual gallery service as well.

Schools involved have also used the Internet element of the Kingston service to indicate how they are performing in national tables etc.

The KiT Local Loop service has also been well received. Essentially this is a virtual shopping mall of local retailers who would otherwise be unable to afford TV advertising exposure on conventional ITV regional services. Even the larger national retailers who have no such issues still take placements in Local Loop to address the local community more closely.

KiT also offers a local news service that draws from items from the regional ITV service. Rather than delivering news on areas outside of Hull, it focuses on those only relevant to the local community.

The BBC has capitalized on Kingston's lead in broadband-based TV delivery and has been experimenting with various services through the BBCi Hull initiative. This extended to the creation of "Thunder Road", a localized soap series based around a bingo hall in the Hull area.

8.3 Department for Education and Skills ( DFES) - "Teachers TV"

This project is one of the more recent Government Central Government DiTV initiatives and importantly stands alone in being deployed on the Freeview DTT platform alongside satellite, cable and DSL alternatives to be a truly platform neutral service.

Launched on 8 ^th February 2005, Teachers TV is a television channel dedicated to the teaching profession. It is aimed at everyone who works in schools, with a schedule designed to suit a variety of lifestyles and working hours.

Teachers' TV, is costing the government £20m a year but is editorially independent and will provide advice and show discussions of educational issues.

The channel was launched by Adam Hart Davis, the face of BBC science and history programmes such as What the Romans Did for Us. It is broadcasting 24 hours a day on digital satellite, NTL, Telewest, HomeChoice, KIT and overnight for recording of Freeview DTT. It also has a dedicated website at http://www.teachers.tv .

For the Freeview DTT service, the DFES is understood to have provided a number of PVRs to allow the users to record programmes only from 00:00 midnight to 06:00 a.m. for later viewing. Building on this a new discount purchase scheme has been introduced see below.

Teachers' TV is divided into three "zones" - one each for professional advice to primary and secondary staff and another "general" one. The Primary and Secondary Zones offer practical ideas and techniques, plus recordable programmes aimed at pupils. Each week there is a different role and subject focus.

The General Zone is where there are programmes of broader interest. These include a weekly look at careers in CareerWise which also advises staff on how to get a "good work-life balance". There is a round-up of each week's education news and a ten o'clock documentary slot showing challenging and insightful programmes. These have included Ofsted boss David Bell being interviewed by educationalist Professor Ted Wragg and Jonathan Dimbleby chairing a debate on proposed reforms to education for 14 to 19-year-olds.

Sheena McDonald fronts a weekly news programme and fly-on-the-wall programmes will offer teachers the opportunity to see others at work. Most programmes are downloadable from the website and you can find a wide selection of support material to accompany many of these.

8.3.1 "Get Teachers TV" Discount Scheme

A "Get Teachers TV" discount purchase scheme as since been introduced. Educational institutions across England, including schools, nurseries, FE colleges and teaching training colleges and the people that work in them - from teachers and trainee teachers, to support staff, governors and external professionals - can now get cheaper DTV products and services.

Get Teachers' TV has partnered with Comet (for the Freeview service), HomeChoice, KIT, Telewest and Top Up TV. Interested parties have to visit the Get Teachers' TV website to register their eligibility, select the offer that best suits them and get a discount code.

Available in London, HomeChoice offers 50 % off its entry level package for the first three months, incorporating digital TV, on-demand TV, broadband Internet and its free Evenings and Weekends Talk Plan.

Eligible people who reside in the Hull area can sign up to KIT's entry level package, Access Pack, for 12 months or more, get two months' free subscription on 36 TV and radio channels, as well as free connection, free rental of the modem and set-top-box, and a 50 % discount on the cost of installation.

Telewest Broadband is offering free installation on any digital TV and phone service and a £5 discount every month, for 12 months, when the customer combines a digital TV package with broadband Internet and telephone services. Comet will give 10 % off any digital equipment that lets you receive the Freeview service. As Teachers' TV broadcasts overnight on Freeview, Comet's offer extends to its Personal Video Recorders ( PVRs), also known as hard disk recorders. Additionally, any organisation that orders over £1,000 worth of equipment from Comet will get a free DVD player, meaning that by combining orders with colleagues' people can get even more for their money.

Teachers can also enhance the Freeview services they receive, by signing up to the Top Up TV subscription service. Under the Get Teachers' TV discount scheme, Top Up TV is offering an 8 % discount off the first year's subscription, essentially giving 13 months for the price of 12.

Research carried out by ICM for Teachers' TV revealed that the majority of teachers welcome the opportunity for more training and opportunities to observe others in the classroom. 64% of teachers questioned said that they wanted more training and the view was the same from 70% of department heads.

Teachers spend on average almost an hour a week on researching training courses and resources, equating to 48 hours a year or 6 working days. The channel is expected to help teachers by featuring time saving ideas and delivering television based classroom resources.

86% of teachers questioned welcome the chance to be an observer in other classrooms because only 11% regularly have the opportunity to do so. 25% of those questioned felt that one of the most important aspects to training was to view best practice.

8.4 Carpenters TV - Regen TV

8.4.1 Carpenters Connect

Carpenters Connect, was a community based interactive TV project on the Carpenters Estate in Newham, East London, officially launched on Thursday 14 November 2002. The launch, took the form of a party for residents and guests, held at the Carpenters and Docklands Centre on the Estate from 6.00 to 8.30 in the evening.

The Carpenters Connect project was led by Newham Council and supported by the following partner organisations:

Carpenters Connect was one of seven projects around the UK, forming part of the Department for Education and Skills' ( DfES) "Wired-Up Communities" initiative. It claimed to be unique in being the only one of the seven that uses interactive TV.

Carpenters Connect provided residents with access to a range of free entertainment and information services. These included Internet, email, estate website and videos as well as a unique PC experience on the TV with such as Microsoft's Windows Word and other programs being available. The services were offered through a set top box linked to the television in peoples' homes.

The STB supplied by Pace was the DSL4000 IP-based digital home gateway, a set top box for use on telco networks delivering streamed video rather than broadcast TV based services. As such it was not a conventional broadcast based STB and substantially more expensive.

Another key element of Carpenters Connect was "Home 2 Home", the estate's own TV channel and website, which was created with the support of the Media Trust. "Home 2 Home" projects included the documentary film "Meet the Neighbours", featuring the residents of Carpenters Estate and was made with their assistance.

8.4.2 An expensive and difficult concept to transfer

In addition to the more costly STB, Carpenters Connect was founded on a very expensive fibre network with dedicated servers close to the two target tower blocks. As a consequence it is not a proposition that can be easily and inexpensively rolled out to other areas of the country.

Continued funding for the project became and issue and Carpenters Connect has become Regen TV.

8.5 Regen TV

The principal partners in Regen TV are Newham Council, Newham.Net, IBM, Home2Home, and the East Thames Housing Association. Newham.net is a "not for profit" social enterprise that is probably the world's smallest ISP, telecommunication company and broadcaster. It was responsible for creating the prototype Internet Protocol TV service on which Regen TV is built and has managed its operation since November 2002.

Regen TV has taken the Carpenters Connect prototype - and largely through now collaborating with IBM converted it into an Open Source product and service model that can be deployed on a scalable basis. The owners say it will enable local authorities and other social landlords to provide video-based interactive e-government services to residents and manage truly local TV channels providing content for and by local people.

According to the project managers, Regen TV will allow local authorities and housing associations to deliver a unique service to their tenants and will ensure that they are in a position to exploit the potential of IPTV. This will be achieved both through the software product and also through guides explaining its use and how to involve residents in content creation, thereby helping to secure the social inclusion benefits achievable through this approach.

The system runs on a resilient and scalable Linux platform, and all services are delivered over IP (Internet Protocol) via building-wide Ethernet cabling or standard TV coaxial cabling to the homes. Applications are hosted on back end servers and 'free to air' TV stations take a feed from local satellite antennae. The in home system comprises a set top box running browser software and MPEG decoder, a wireless keyboard and remote control. IBM brings its extensive digital media services expertise to the project, backed up by industry leading hardware ( IBM eServer xSeries and eServer BladeCenter). As Regen TV software runs on Linux, it offers a low cost, single platform solution that reduces on-going support and licence costs.

The project will deliver a unique product through GCAT/ SCAT channels. This comprises hardware specifications to enable straightforward purchase of the equipment, Open Source software along with specifications of some commercial software where Open Source products are unavailable, plus technical and system administration documentation. An indicative business case to support an implementation of the system is available.

Also included will be a community engagement manual, job specifications for staff to support the system, and training course material, implementation guidance in Prince2 format: in short, everything required for a local authority to be able to implement an instance of the project for themselves. A full evaluation report by Middlesex University on the social benefits, based on the beta trials on the New Union Wharf estate run in Tower Hamlets by the East Thames Housing Association, will also be available.

The IPTV service still runs on the Carpenters Estate in Newham and serves more than 300 homes (70% of those possible) being operational for about two years. It delivers video on demand, internet access, email, an estate intranet, multiplayer video games, a ' PC on TV' service and 'free to air' TV channels to residents' TVs, with the familiarity of a known interface - the TV. A key element of the service has been the creation of local video content produced with a high degree of resident involvement. The service as a whole has shown significant social cohesion advantages, including a reduction in crime and graffiti.

Research by Leeds Metropolitan University into the project showed that 95% of those with access to the system used it to access local information. 17% of these had been directly involved in the creation of such content.

8.5.1 Comment

As before the service is reliant on a non traditional broadcast STB (Sky, Freeview or Cable) and utilises an IPTVSTB. It is understood that the vendor has changed from Pace but regardless of brand would still be more expensive. Use of Linux affords the Project a cheaper licence free alternative. However it also gives potential for a less controlled infrastructure with more technical aware people creating or downloading open source software

It is apparent that those leading the Carpenters/Regen TV initiative are particularly well versed in the computing and Internet arena. They appear to have gone for a very feature rich solution that complies with their knowledge of what is available in the Internet domain and tried to sell the concept to the local citizens. This has required a number of public meeting/training sessions that would not necessarily be available in the real world where consumers will have to acquire their own DTV solutions. More work could have been done in exploring what the local population wanted and needed and then provide a service to match.

More positively, as the major developments in broadband roll out, new compression techniques and IPTV services continue, the Regen TV project could benefit and become a more significant demonstrator of how IPTV can be applied in the Public Sector.

It is reasonable to surmise that the system has led to a significant increase in resident knowledge of local issues and has encouraged local action. The system has also played a key role in facilitating consultation on the refurbishment of tower blocks on the estate under the Council's master planning process.

8.6 ODPM / DigiTV: Local Authorities

This Kirklees Metropolitan Council managed project continues to be the way to DiTV for many local authorities. The ability to use a common starter kit and templates to derive a quick and tested means of proving enhanced and Interactive TV has attracted many. Moreover, the opportunity to become part of a twelve authority cluster and make considerable savings on the otherwise individual carriage charge for Sky and cable platforms is a core driver. More on the DigiTV Starter kit is carried in section 10.

Local Authorities who have utilized the Starter Kit so far are included in Appendix A.

8.6.1 Most significant developments from the DigiTV Project

The following outlines recent highlights from Local Authority initiatives utilising DigiTV / Starter Kit platform.

Housing

Bolton LA has found that a big pull on their service came from people looking for housing information. By placing all available council properties on their site each week, and advertising that the information was available on TV before the local newspaper - their site saw dramatic increases in usage. They are now looking to integrate the Starter Kit with their choice based lettings service so that the information is always 'live' on TV.

Plug-ins - GP appointments

The most significant plug-in is the delivery of GP appointments on TV. Working with the company that has nearly 60% of all UK surgeries using its software, the system enables users to book, cancel and review GP appointments. The savings to the surgery are significant along with improved service to those still using more traditional methods (phone). From a user perspective the benefits are easy to see with users being able to book appointments at times that suit them, without the need to deal with an often harassed receptionist. The technology is now in place to enable some 4500 surgeries in the UK to be enabled on DiTV via the DigiTV Starter Kit. The service is being piloted in 6 surgeries in South Yorkshire and is now ready for wider rollout. In one case, the surgery is now getting over 45% of its appointments via either web or DiTV.

Other plug-ins

Housing Benefits - allowing users to check the status of their housing benefit claim via TV. Savings for the council in terms of phone calls and walk-ins and improved access to information for the customer.

Waste Collection - the single biggest reason for calls into Barnsley's call centre. Users can now check to find out what day their bins are collected dynamically.

Air Quality - users can find out the Air Quality readings for the day by postcode; a key issue in the old mining areas of South Yorkshire.

School Noticeboard - allowing parents to securely log-on to TV and find out truancy records, homework set and other school notices. This is due to go live across the Sheffield LEA this autumn.

Plug-ins in the pipeline include Payments (council tax, rent, parking fines etc), Library services (booking and renewing), Job search, Transport (Transport Direct - travel news, bus stop info, route planning) amongst others. All plug-ins are being built on a 'free to use' basis for each LA engaged with DigiTV.

Marketing - DigiTV Management have found the more they tell users that the services exist, the more they use them. No real surprise there. However, a cable interactive marketing campaign in the Spring saw a 1000% increase in traffic.

8.7 Public Sector DiTV Initiatives decline

Many of the local authority pilots above have been concluded with no further funding attributed to them, such as the Somerset and Suffolk pathfinder initiatives.

Some DiTV trials have clearly been implemented under short term objectives and principally to capitalize on available budgets. Some of these appear to have been founded on the DigiTV Starter Kit purely due to it being a simple, one stop shop by which the short term objectives/budget could be achieved. This gave rise to a number of projects being tactical with no long term strategies. No particular consideration was given to which platform or products to use and critically any association with longer term DTV or eGovt initiatives.

A notable exception has been seen in the South Yorkshire " e@syconnects TV" initiatives. The manager Gary Simpson has been particularly enthusiastic in pushing for solutions and marketing them intensively to the relevant communities. The " e@syconnects TV" project has been named as an "e-Government Excellence" finalist in the e-Government National Awards. This can be linked at least in part to Gary Simpson continuously looking at the options available and pushing for a solution that meets his citizen's needs.

Significant Central Government DiTV initiatives have also been closed. A notable case is the DWP Pensions advice service. This ran on the Sky and cable platforms until September 2003. Pam Gair a senior manager for the project advised that the project was shelved due to the high costs for platform carriage versus small levels of usage at a time when the DWP had more important budget demands.

In order to reach the largest number of potential users of the service, the DWP decided to launch the service on NTL, Telewest and Sky. They found developing the service for Sky was the most complex and costly. This was compounded by the untimely loss of Energis as a project partner. All the service information on the Sky platform sat in the broadcast stream for a fixed price. Interactive features were through dial-up. Putting video into the broadcast stream in Sky was expensive in terms of bandwidth costing £14,000 per month for a 7 minute video. The video was quickly removed.

To comply with the law and to reach more potential users of the service, the service needed to be available in Welsh. While this came earlier on cable, getting a live Welsh service on Sky proved problematic. DWP had to contemplate running a separate solution whereby, if a user specifically requested a Welsh version of the service, they had to dial-up using a free telephone number and get the content though the post.

Critically, the take up via the Sky Interactive service proved to be markedly much lower than expected. DWP found it far easier to work with the cable operators than with Sky.

As well as analysing MIS, the DWP commissioned MORI to conduct a qualitative evaluation of the DiTV Pensions Service. Figures to the end of July 2003 showed approximately 246,000 visits were made to the service. Some of those were repeat visits as people returned to order further leaflets or to find out more information. Of the total number of visits, around 128,000 came from the cable arena, mainly after September 2002 when marketing began (6,000 before September). The technology did not allow DWP to accurately collect data for satellite access but by looking at the number of interactive transactions received from satellite DWP estimate a minimum of 118,000 accessed the service via satellite in the period since October 2002.

Interactive transactions resulted in almost 13,000 leaflets requested between September 2002 and July 2003 from around 5,000 requests. 67 "Ask A Question" enquiries were made and only 167 online surveys completed.

Interestingly, while the Sky service was available to many more households than both the cable platforms put together, a large percentage of interactive service usage came from the cable platform. This was attributed to the cable interactive service not tying up a telephone line.

DWP cannot stress enough the need to effectively market any Digital television service. The peaks and troughs of usage can be directly correlated with marketing activity levels. DWP focussed on marketing towards existing digital television subscribers and to this end took out adverts in the Sky magazine. These cost £12,000 and were not sufficiently successful. NTL were interested in publishing a two page spread on how to use DiTV, with the Pensions Service as an example within the article, which was much more successful.

DWP found banner adverts to be the most effective; along with using the Sky Red Button. The latter allowed viewers of the Pensions Service TV advertisements the option of pressing the red button during the advert to request a leaflet. While successful, it was an expensive exercise as the TV advert necessarily has to be the last in the slot - that last slot being the most expensive!

8.8 Cabinet Office e-GU focus shift

The last two years has seen a marked shift of focus for the e-Government Unit (formerly the Office of the eEnvoy). From espousing that public sector organisations should explore DiTV as a potential means of electronic service delivery, they have experienced the realities of the entertainment based focus of the TV versus the needs for eGovernment.

At a technology level they are focused more towards the mobile phone and associated sectors as a more suitable means of personalised ESD communications with individuals. Their core interest now seems to be more tactical than strategic and maximising cost savings/benefits for any approach to the citizen.

Government based Mobile phone related services have been targeted by a number of public service bodies.

8.8.1 New SMS text service to make recycling easier in London

The 16th September 2005 has seen the latest in a new e-government-by-phone text service launched by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, to make recycling even easier for Londoners.

The text service from Recycle for London is the first of its kind in the country and residents in the capital will be able to request details of when their recycling is collected or where their nearest recycling facilities are, all by texting RECYCLE and their full postcode to the number 63131. There is also a direct link in the text message to their local recycling helpline so residents in each London borough can order their recycling box or bag immediately if they have not yet got one.

The text service has been built by Incentivated Limited and integrates the Company's online Mobile Marketing platform called 'iris' with the Recycle for London database of up to date recycling information across all the Greater London boroughs. The service is available across all the mobile networks and handles the vagaries of the recycling schemes in each borough, intelligently integrating into the text message the different materials collected as well as borough contact details.

The announcement comes at the start of a new advertising campaign by Recycle for London, where a series of adverts will be displayed on buses, tubes and posters across the capital from today to promote the new text service and encourage Londoners to recycle more.

In recent research 27 per cent of Londoners admitted to ICM Research that they were unsure about which day their recycling is collected. Recycle for London is urging Londoners to text 63131 to find out about the different materials which can be recycled and when they should be putting their recycling boxes and bags out.

8.9 Comparison Tables

The two tables below compare the Scottish Executive DiTV trial against other current Government and Local Authority initiatives. Also included are the Sky e-Portal and DigiTV Starter Kits to help identify their abilities as a possible alternative for the Scottish Executive Skydigital based service to transfer to

The first table includes bullet text to help identify the measurement criteria. The second table is simply a representation of the first but with scores attributed and totalled to identify how each DiTV trial /portal compares with the others.

The scoring attributed in the tables above is based on the contents and guidance running through this report and clearly indicates why some have performed better than others.

The DFES "Teachers' " TV" services stands apart from others but it has to be acknowledged that as one of the most recent Public Sector DiTV implementations the organisers have clearly benefited through learning from earlier initiatives and mistakes. Prior to introducing their service, the DFES management actively attended the various Departmental quarterly DTV Working Groups and engaged consultants who in turn called on advice from industry.

The high score for Teachers TV is largely derived from the service being truly platform neutral - being offered on all broadcast platforms. They have recognised the shortfalls of DTT spectrum availability and addressed by standard consumer PVR solutions. Importantly they have generated TV based programming with interlinked enhanced and interactive elements, focused to their core target base and via standard products.

The second and third placed e@syconnects and ODPMDigiTV Starter Kit services are clearly closely matched as a result of the former being derived from the latter. However, as a product/service aimed at various local authority initiatives the DigiTV project's marketing could not be as focused as that conducted by South Yorkshire's management to particular groups that their pre trial research investigated. It is worth reiterating how the proactive and ongoing marketing by the e@syconnects management has helped their DiTV success, not least in the GP's surgeries arena.

While it is not a Government DiTV service, the Sky e-Portal was included to show its respective merits and less positive elements. It should be noted that while its score is lower than that for its nearest competitor - the DigiTV Starter kit, this is as a result of no scores being listed in three (grey) areas. The low cost, directly managed and resourced Sky solution may offset any issues of working with the vertical market based operator.

The lowest score attributed to the Scottish Executive is clearly associated with there also being no scores attributed to areas that were not known or unclear. With these properly addressed the score would improve but not necessarily to overtake the others listed. In many ways the Scottish Executive initiative is similar to the higher scored NHS Direct service -both only being based on Skydigital.

However, this is more of a short term step only for the DH led initiative. Intensive research of all platforms capabilities was run by the DH before the NHS Direct TV service went live. They have recognised the issues around limited demand and for providing a two way interactive service and had the foresight to launch an enhanced one way only service first while continuing to explore how richer services could be developed.

The Carpenters/Regen TV pilot has been scored low close to the Scottish Executive pilot but for very different reasons. The former has taken a very technical and PC oriented approach built on expensive and proprietary technologies that cannot be easily transferred to larger areas across the country. Having said this, if they continue to develop their IPTV based initiatives in line with anticipated broadband network, product and service developments over the next 3-5 years the score would be considerably better if a similar exercise was taken then.