Friday 9th July 2010, BBC Radio 4's 'Today' programme, Science Minister David Willetts openly discusses the benefits and considerations for pursuing further programmes similar to Skynet for the future of Science in the UK:
"I'm similarly keen on pursuing further programmes along the lines of Skynet, the UK's single biggest space project system and the provider of secure satellite telecommunications for Britain's armed forces. With Skynet, the Ministry of Defence purchased a service, and requests further capability as necessary, but does not own the hardware. Instead, Astrium can sell spare bandwidth to other government departments and friendly states, thereby reducing MoD costs. Skynet is an example of smart public sector procurement. Instead of buying a satellite, the MoD bought a service and created a commercial opportunity at the same time. Spending about £220 million annually, it's vital that the public sector uses that purchasing power effectively. There is a lot more that we can do here both to back SMEs and to back innovation. A purchasing contract can be as effective a way to get money to an innovative small business as a grant or a capital investment: this is particularly important at times when banks are so reluctant to lend."
For more info, please visit:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/news/speeches/david-willetts-science-innovation-an...