The Government’s Broadband tax could delay progression of faster broadband being rolled out across the UK. Talk Talk Chief Charles Dunstone warned that the extra tax could force low-income families to disconnect their Internet. The 50p a month charge, which would help fund the cost of developing UK networks for faster broadband was mentioned back in June in the Digital Britain report.

Dunstone warned that the extra 50p a month could force around 100,000 low-income households to give up their Internet connections. “This is an unjust and regressive tax on all phone customers which will subsidise mostly richer rural households that can afford high priced super-fast broadband services”

The purpose of the tax introduction is to speed up the Digital Britain move, providing Broadband across the country. Dunstone believes the 50p charge will have the opposite effect “ The scheme is likely to delay the next generation broadband roll-out in rural areas rather than hasten it as private investors will wait for public funds to be made available. This will mean that much of the tax will be wasted, invested in networks that the private sector would have built themselves anyway.”

Talk Talk said that the broadband toll was an ‘unfair tax’ that would prove counterproductive. They urge the Government to focus on enabling private sector investment and encouraging effective competition instead.

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