The Guardian reported that a national micropayment network is being developed in the UK, and could be active by next summer. It is funded via the government through the Digital Britain project.

The UK government's Technology Strategy Board has been charged with helping to fight piracy by stimulating models for legal downloads. It also has a £2 million fund to support those with ideas for applications and platforms. Currently, head of the TSB team Nick Appleyard told the Guardian, the group is working on a networking project "to join members of the public, ISPs, content publishers and other service providers together" and a public trial should take place in mid-2010.

Appleyard also commented that revenue models should be worked out together by content publishers, broadcasters, ISPs and banking providers: cooperation is necessary, he stressed.

Although is it not clear yet exactly how the network will function, presumably news organisations will be able to take advantage of it to sell their content. The Financial Times is considering introducing micropayments, it emerged last month. Consumers would be able to purchase access to to individual articles otherwise available only to subscribers via an iTunes-inspired pay-per-article system. The Wall Street Journal has also contemplated such an option.

Could micropayments prove the 'saviour' of the British newspaper industry as publishers seek to increase online revenue amidst slowing advertising income? Ease of use seems to be a crucial factor for the success of such a scheme, as well as a suitable pricing strategy. A national scheme that made it hassle-free for users to purchase content from a variety of providers does have potential.

Source: Guardian