Universal broadband pledge gets budget boost

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 22 Apr 2009 at 15:55

The Government is backing the creation of broadband-for-all in the UK with an initial £250 million of funding.

The budget pledge follows Lord Carter's Digital Britain report which recommended the creation of a universal service obligation delivering a 2Mbits/sec broadband connection to every home in the country by 2012.

The chancellor, Alistair Darling, has now thrown the Government's weight behind the proposal, announcing that the USO will be backed, in part, by any money left over from the BBC's Digital TV switchover efforts.

The BBC earmarked £803 million from licence fees to ensure everybody could make the switch to digital television. However, the National Audit Office has worked out that up to £250 million of that might not be needed - and the Government says it will be appropriated for forthcoming broadband commitments.

Darling said these funds would be complemented by "communication providers, and those who provide communication services over the network", as per Lord Carter's recommendations.

"It is vital to ensure the entire country and economy benefits from the digital age," Darling said during his budget. "So I am allocating extra funding for digital investment to allow virtually everyone to experience the benefits of broadband, including the increasing delivery of public services online".

Darling also promised "further support to improve basic digital skills and promote broadband take-up".

Analysts welcomed the proposals, but say there are still many details to be hammered out: "The Chancellor... needs to consider how to remove the barriers that prevent the people who cannot afford broadband to get connected. They need to ensure that competition in the market remains fair and consumers are given choice rather than one or two providers."