Finally, some positive UK Government/broadband news. Sort of. Chancellor Alistair Darling has confirmed that a ‘Landline Duty’ would be set up next year which would work out at 50p per month, or £6 a year on all phone lines. This would raise an estimated £175 million in funding which would be invested in bird houses and moats a nationwide next-gen broadband infrastructure.
The funding will be used to “encourage private sector investment in digital infrastructure.” This could mean that ISPs such as BT and Virgin Media, who have already heavily invested in improving the availability and performance of their respective networks, could benefit from an injection of public coin.
However this will only come to pass if Labour remain in government after the next election. Both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats have said that they would scrap the proposals if either party came to power.
Last month, TalkTalk chief executive Charles Dunstone said in the Guardian that the tax would be counter productive, as “over 100,000 mostly low income homes will be forced to give up their broadband lines.”
By contrast, the Chancellors controversial “super-tax” on City bonuses is said to rake in around £550 million - this alone would cover three years’ worth of tithes which would be accrued from the proposed Landline Duty.
What do you think? Would you mind paying an extra £6 a year if it means super-fast broadband in a few years time or do you think that our taxes should already be paying for this?
Posted by Tom on December 10th 2009 in BT Broadband, Next Gen Broadband, TalkTalk, Virgin Media
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