The UK government has again looked to take the sting out of the ongoing controversy of the UK broadband network which is wholly inadequate going forward. While the vast majority of towns and cities in the UK have access to a number of broadband providers many of the more remote areas of the country have been left behind. In what is seen by many as an action replay of Gordon Brown’s announcement just weeks ago, a report by the government has suggested that over 1.5 million rural homes in the UK without access to video capable broadband will have a legal entitlement to such a service in the future.
However, yet again it seems as though the consumer would be paying the price for the next stage of the UK government’s broadband revolution with telephone companies set to incur a levy to pay for the introduction of more remote broadband network connection. As ever, it is certain to be the UK consumer who will pay the price with telephone companies sure to pass on any extra charges to their customers.
While the Digital Britain report by Lord Carter of Barnes tackles the issue of broadband connections for everyone in the UK, hidden away in the small print is a requirement for no more than 2 Mbps speeds for these more rural areas of the country. When you consider that the average speed at the moment is 3.6 Mbps perhaps the UK consumer is being short changed after all?