A tax on phone lines could be introduced in an effort to try and extend the reach of super-fast broadband into the countryside.
A £6 a year tax on every phone line in the country is part of the plan outlined in the Digital Britain White Paper to stimulate the development future fibre optic services. It aims to ensure every home in Britain has access to 2MB-per-second broadband by 2012 - a speed fast enough to use online shopping services and social networks. The government estimates that without intervention the market will only provide such speeds to two-thirds of the country by this time, mainly in highly-populated areas where it’s most profitable to upgrade lines.
To make up the difference, the government will collect an extra £150 million to £175 million in tax each year to subsidize upgrades to the telephone network and improve mobile broadband options in areas where fixed line broadband is least financially viable.So it's time to start taxing everyone again to make an investment into the country's infrastructure that they have known for a long time would be necessary but have avoided doing anything about it of course
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Can't imagine many homes which don't have a fixed phone line - even if they don't have an internet connection.
It's a good job we have such a forward thinking, contingency planning government in place
