UK plans universal Internet access by 2012

Wednesday, 17 June 2009 10:07

The plan came into effect after it was revealed that about one-third of Britain's population does not have access to the Internet at home. This prompted a government promise Tuesday to overhaul the country's digital infrastructure.

Writing in an op-ed piece for the Times of London, Brown said "Just as the bridges, roads and railways built in the 19th century were the foundations of an Industrial Revolution that helped Britain to become the workshop of the world, so investment now in the information and communications industries can underpin our emergence from recession."

Britain still relies heavily on copper cables that can only carry data over a few miles (kilometers), instead of fiber optic cables that can transmit data across entire oceans. This means that people who do not live near the telephone exchanges find it difficult to access the Internet. Most of these people live in the rural areas, away from the shopping malls and cinemas and these are the ones who need Internet more than the others to do their shopping and download movies.

The government plans to raise an annual six pound ($9.80) tax on every fixed telephone line to provide subsidies for Internet companies to deliver fast Internet connections to areas where it would not normally be viable. It also aims to get Internet costs down so no one should feel they are unable to afford an Internet connection.