The UK government has today been accused of sending out a confusing message regarding UK broadband after apparently looking to follow the Finland route and install broadband as a “legal right”. After Digital Britain Minister Stephen Timms changed his wording from a “commitment” to an “obligation” it seemed that the UK government was in fact looking to go down a similar path. However, the government was quick to issue a correction and confirm that the ongoing investment into the broadband sector would result in a “commitment” and not an “obligation”.
Despite the fact that the UK government has indeed floated the idea of a legally binding agreement between the authorities and the UK population it looks as though, at least for the moment, there are no thoughts of making this a formal arrangement. Even though UK taxpayers will be expected to inject billions upon billions of pounds into the UK broadband network it looks as though some areas of the country will remain “out of the loop” for some time to come.
There is no doubt that broadband is becoming a more vital everyday service around the world both in the consumer sector and the business arena. Whether it will in fact become a “legal obligation” is very much open to debate but nonetheless this is a debate which will carry on for some time to come.