Lord Stephen Carter - Agenda Setters 2009

Name: Lord Stephen Carter

Title: Former Communications, Technology and Broadcasting Minister

Position: 13    Last year: Not ranked

Why? For championing Broadband Britain and planning for its future

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• Christian Engström
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• Dave Girouard

Lord Stephen Carter made his mark in his former guise as UK Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting - or in other words the brains behind the government's Digital Britain blueprint for the nation's tech future.

As the driving force behind the report, Lord Carter has championed the cause of high speed broadband connectivity - setting out a commitment to broadband access for all and calling for a 50p levy on phone lines to pave the way for super high speed fibre broadband.

Fibre broadband is essential if the UK is not to be hopelessly left behind in the global connectivity stakes. Even now countries such as Korea are far ahead when it comes to next generation broadband infrastructure and uptake.

One Agenda Setters judge described Carter as "the figurehead for the call for ubiquitous broadband across Britain". Another said he's the "first person to pull together a coherent vision for the UK", with a third commending how he cut through "the political spaghetti" and set out a detailed and transformative plan for "a key aspect" of the underlying infrastructure of the UK economy.

You may not agree with everything in the Digital Britain report but it's difficult not to be impressed by its scope and attention to detail. But perhaps Carter's biggest achievement has simply been getting things moving - "ending the stalemate" in the words of one panellist, something the judge notes is "possibly better appreciated outside the UK".