As we approach the election, the Labour Party yesterday reiterated plans to introduce a broadband tax in the UK and interestingly promised to reach the “final 10%” of UK homes and businesses who were initially thought inaccessible with regards to superfast broadband. The Party has indicated that the use of satellite broadband and mobile broadband technology will come into play to reach the “final 10%” although it is not yet clear who will fund what could be a significant additional cost.
While this pledge will obviously be welcomed by many in the UK, especially those in the more rural areas of the country, the government has still yet to define “high speed” and “superfast” broadband. It would appear there is some difference between the industry definition of these two elements and the government definition although we will obviously hear more in due course.
As we covered in one of our recent articles, the government was forced to cancel the broadband tax after running out of time to push the move through parliament although it seems as though this is still an integral part of the Labour Party’s broadband initiative. We will cover the Conservative broadband pledges later this week and give you the option to compare and contrast.