Rate your broadband service!

Happy with broadband? Or is it letting you down?

Rate your broadband ISP here >>

Broadband tax in part of super-fast internet plan

Telephone users in the UK could soon be paying a broadband tax, according to the Minister for Digital Britain Stephen Timms.The fee, which would cost £6 per year, would be levied against everyone with a telephone line installed in their home, irrespective of whether they already have a broadband connection.  The £175 million which would be raised annually from the tax, would be used to fund the next generation of ultra-fast broadband services in Britain.

The levy is just one of a number of recommendations to come from the recent Digital Britain Report, which was compiled by Mr Timms’ predecessor Lord Carter.  The report sets out the government’s plans and proposals to take the country to the cutting edge of internet technology, which includes a pledge of a universal broadband speed by 2012.

There have been rumours in recent months that the report has been sidelined but Mr Timms denied this, telling BBC News that ‘Nothing has been derailed. It is full steam ahead’.

Although the tax was announced earlier this year, most people believed that it would not come into force until after the election, if at all. It is believed that the Conservative party are strongly opposed to it, with John Whittingdale, Conservative MP and chair of the department for Culture, Media and Sport claiming that his party is almost certain to vote against the tax. He said: ‘I object to it on the basis that it is another tax, and it is aimed at people who are using old technology’.

The fee has aroused further controversy because BT are known to be taking on the bulk of the multimillion pound broadband  investment, leaving many wondering if contributions from the public are really needed.

The tax will be presented to Parliament in November as part of the Financial Bill.