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Government plans £6 a year levy on fixed telephone lines to boost broadband funds
The Government plans a £6 a year tax on everyone with a telephone line so rural and remote areas of the UK can access next generation broadband.
The levy on copper lines is expected to raise about £150- £175m per year, which will be put into the Independent Next Generation Fund.
This will be administered by Ofcom, the telecommunications regulator, and the money will fund part of a subsidy to ensure operators roll out super-fast broadband - with speeds of up to 100 Mbits/sec - to the third of UK homes where it is considered commercially unviable to roll out these services.
The broadband tax plan was unveiled in Lord Carter’s Digital Britain report, and he said placing a 50p per month levy on all copper lines was the “fairest” way of ensuring everyone benefitted from fibre-based next generation services.
These services, which can deliver multimedia content such as TV and movies, are seen as vital to boost the UK’s economy. They are also expected to provide essential access to Government services.
However, the Internet Services Providers' Association (ISPA) was critical about the levy.
“ISPA welcomes Government efforts to encourage investment in infrastructure to create a competitive market for high-speed broadband for consumers. ISPA notes that the proposal to place a 50p per month levy was enabled by the 'historic fall in telecoms prices'. In effect customers and the ISP industry are being penalised for successfully bringing prices down.”
The report also, as expected, outlined the promised a Universal Service Commitment (USC) to ensure every home in the UK can access a 2 Mbits/sec service by 2012. Unlike the proposals in the interim report published at the end of January, the proposed 2Mbits/sec is not a headline speed or ‘up to’.
Lord Carter said: "The 2Mbit/s USC will be a floor rather than a ceiling – a kind of technological minimum wage."
This will be financed mainly through public funds including an estimated £200m surplus from the Digital Switchover Help Scheme.
Other contributions will come from private partners and money from other public sector organisations. Consumers themselves may also have to pay out by resolving any wiring issues in their homes.
However there were widespread criticisms of the proposals.
Michael Phillips, product director of price comparison site, BroadbandChoices said: "A 2Mbits/sec commitment is a pretty underwhelming aspiration given the rest of Europe already experiences over 6Mbits/sec as an average."
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Copper v fibre optic
I feel most aggreived that there is a fibre optic cable running past my house which is used by only a few. Overhead is the copper cable supplying my 1Mb (only in name!). Why can't BT piggy-back on the optic fibre especially as it runs straight past the BT junction box at the end of my road. This is city living - I am as well off as friends who live in rural Dorset!
Posted by Gill Coles, 19 Jun 2009
ANOTHER HIDDEN TAX
Another ploy by the Govt to extract money from the long suffering public. This time to aid a company who has had huge profits in the past which have not been ploughed back into the company. Seems to me to be another of those fees levied upon us i.e. Road Fund Licence and no repair of the roads, BBC licence and no control of fees or policies and now this. A definite NO to this proposal but as usual no notice will be taken of public opinion.
Posted by Toni Wallace Gidding, 19 Jun 2009
Telephone Line Charges
Hardly fair on people with a phone line and no internet. Just another stealth tax.
Posted by George Massingham, 19 Jun 2009
broadband tax
As one of the unfortunate people who obtain their broadband via Hull telephones we have no choice but to accept their service for which we are paying a very high price. To add another charge to our broadband cost would be unpopular with no guarantee that the speed would be improved
Posted by JOSEPH BOURNE, 19 Jun 2009
Good Idea
1) 2mb is a crazy lower level - the minimum should be 8mb 2) it will probably take 6 years to get 90% coverage
Posted by John Somerville, 19 Jun 2009
Broadband "Tax"
My initial reaction to this is one of utter amazement - BT who have been charged with maintaining the infrastructure have been making vast profits for it's pension fund and share holders without doing anything to "upgrade" the system. Now we, the people who have subscribed, thus far are going to be penalised by this throwaway easy solution - raise the money by taxation, throw it at the problem, line pockets (including BT - again) with over-charged costings and then find in 5 years that the project has not delivered and has cost an enormous amount of money. If the government want us to all be "digitalised" then it should be getting the money of the big earners (profits) in the market place (yes they are still there despite this so-called recession) - it is business that will profit the most from an improved communications network so they should pay. It is said it is £6.00 per phone line now - what will it be next year and the year after that - remember what the TV license and Road Fund Tax was for..!! Where is that now in relation to what it set out to do. I think this is a flawed report, and is smoke and mirrors to keep us away from the actual issues. Let's have a REAL policy with a proper review, with educated users actually putting the pros and cons together - then see what solutions can be sought. Time for proper debate and proper management and not a knee-jerk, moment in time, look like we are doing "something" reaction.
Posted by Terry Dowd, 19 Jun 2009
retoldgit
Where's the penalty? Surely any upgrade is better than none at all, and even non-computer users will presumably benefit from the upgrade to telephone lines?
Posted by Eileen Atherton, 19 Jun 2009
Cheek!
Why, when other countries Telcoms have invested, should we, pay for the shortcomings of BT, and others? Here we are again, 'Rip Off Britain'. We always get the short straw, regardless of what is happening!!!
Posted by Ron Harrison, 19 Jun 2009
£6 phone line tax
No I don't agree with this tax. It comes down to taking money off the poor old underdogs again. How low can this lot get? Let the corrupt bankers and MPs pay it out of their crooked incomes. I feel this will eventually be another way of this lot (and the next, no doubt) getting their grubby little hands on even more of our money. Mark my words, this is only the thin end of a potentially thick wedge and will just increase as time goes by. Yours sincerely Frank A Tosney.
Posted by Frank A Tosney, 19 Jun 2009
Broadband Levy
I agree with the tax levy because it is quite erroneous for those who live in non-broadband areas to have to pay for what so many of us receive at present as a matter of course. To have the ISP's pay for this, may mean that many of those who would benefit will still be waiting into the middle of this Century.
Posted by Ernest Hartland, 19 Jun 2009
broadband tax
what a disgrace, why should telephone users pay for something, internet providers use. I say charge ISPs instaed of us who need a phone, we already pay over the odds for cable and sattelite services. This is just a government tax, to fund their greedy life styles and for the mess labour have got us into. What if i refuse to pay this tax, will they cut off my phone, i would not be bothered, i would just use my mobile instead a lot more. Companies are ripping us off, my phone I pay £11 line rental and then charges on top, these o up year on year, so why do companies like virgin Ect pay it instaed.
Posted by andrew, 19 Jun 2009
Totally unfair tax
I am a pensioner, I have great trouble affording broadband with BT right now, BT is not cheap by any means and if I had not saved dilligently whilst working would not be able to afford to eat. With council tax, gas, electricity, water, car tax, insurance and running costs, plus broadband on the telephone line to pay there is barely enough left to exist on let alone putting another UNFAIR tax on us.
Posted by Carolyn Gyseman, 19 Jun 2009
What next?
I already pay a high amount for broadband speed which I have never received. Why should I pay more to people who never come up with the goods. If there was a vote on this issue I would vote no as I feel I already have paid for it. Where's the evidence that it will work - and don't take television advertising as gospel - and what about those people not on broadband and probably will never be on broadband because of where they live. We are in a recession and all these firms keep saying is give us more money.
Posted by Michael - Plymouth Devon, 19 Jun 2009
More tax!
I am already paying for my telephone line and also paying for my broad band connection so why should I, as a OAP, pay extra to subsidise other people especially those who choose to go and live in "the sticks" and then complain about lack of broadband, farm smells , and any thing else they can think of.. I presume that Members of Parliament would claim this extra tax on their expenses!!
Posted by Anthony Jones, 19 Jun 2009
Broadband Tax
Well just another way of fleecing the pockets of BT. What next?? Totally out of order, they rent the lines out... any rental company is responsible for the upkeep of the equipment they supply. They put enought charges on the bills but then paying from those would mean a cut of the profits that go into their pockets... so as usual hit the customers with the charges... totally disgusted.
Posted by C.Bryce, 19 Jun 2009
Another Tax!
At my age, 82, I am absolutely fed up with taxes, including the cynical so-called Green Taxes. Also my state pension is taxed.
Posted by E Armstrong, 19 Jun 2009
It's an Unfair Copper
As a taxpayer providing for hardup banks, bankers ,destitute politicians and many other struggling institutions this £6 payment per year will probably be increased as there will be the predictable shortfall due to vast redundancy payments to chief exec's etc. For sometime now I was led to belive that the National Lottery Fund would be used to benefit the whole population at large. Or is this, what a rollover really means?
Posted by Dudley Gibbs, 19 Jun 2009
Broadband Tax
I`m with BTYAHOO, on Option 3, and I live 300 yards from their telephone exchange and my connection speed used to be fairly good, about 5MB. But for a long, long, long, long time now, my connection speed is around 0.20kbs up to 0.80kbs. I`ve given up contacting BT as I get the same old run around, they always blame it on the HUB. So I can not see the fibre-optic making any difference. £6 a year for something that does not work aas it should seems unfair.
Posted by Irate BT Customer, 19 Jun 2009
broadband stealth tax
its nice to see an extra tax on my BT bill of which i never asked for or require as i already recieve upto 7 megs on my service plan. if i wanted a trade up in my car from a s40 to a super car would any body like to help me pay for it, i think not. so why are we being ripped off again, its BT network they should be investing there profits into the network and any spare to the shareholders 70/30 ? we pay enough for what we get. And Virgin cable is already fibre optic will they be charged aswell ??
Posted by john, 19 Jun 2009
Phone line tax
Just like 'Road Tax' was intended to fund road repairs and upgrades, the 'Broadband Tax' is another 'cash cow' for an incompetent government. Why aren't the advertisers (including e-bay) charged a levy to fund their current free usage and web marketing?
Posted by K L Simpson, 19 Jun 2009
£6 a year levy
Was all in favour of this until I found that it would be ongoing tax. Surely they would raise enough(are there any figures known???) to undertake the update wiring work required. Why does it have to be an ongoing tax with obvious increases, year by year, as others have pointed out.
Posted by Tizzie, 19 Jun 2009
Broadband Tax
Road fund tax was originally to build and look after roads and look what has happened to that. The same will happen to this tax. The government is so short of money that it's grabbing what it can from any source to fund it's deficit
Posted by Mike Kerr, 19 Jun 2009
What about the cable companies ?
All the other companies involved in providing telecoms have access to all of BT's local lines via local loop unbundling. Are they forcing this tax on their customers, and as usual with any tempy tax, it will still be there even when the upgrade is finished. Also note that the work will be contracted out and you can guess what the state of the line plant will be in when they have taken their cut.
Posted by Graham Gibbs, 19 Jun 2009
BROADBAND TAX FOR PHONE USERS
Although i feel that this is another Tax that many people would not be prepared to pay, i.e those that would pay for it,and would never use a computer,let alone a Broadband Connection. If this is the only way that we can compete with other countries, to get superfast Broadband, by having to pay a 50p per month tax on our phone bill to get it, then i for one would be prepared to pay this charge
Posted by Dave Bluck, 19 Jun 2009
Broadband tax planned for telephone users
A very narrow approach to a national infrastructural problem. As a previous commentator (Terry Dowd, 19 Jun 2009) mentioned BT collects monthly standing charges from all fixed line subscribers, owing to historical defaults. What for? To maintain and improve? Or simply a revenue generating cash cow. A fibre backbone to the home is the long term aspirational goal - a national project with national funding, the private sector leasing . Paid not with +0.60p but National Lottery (post Olympics). over a five year period. (Est. £6 Billion ) Let us not forget the reduced inservice costs of fibre and returned metal(copper) recycling revenue.
Posted by Jan Wroblewski, 19 Jun 2009
BROADBAND TAX
If I remember right part of the agreement for BT to be privatised in the 80's-90's was to upgrade the inadequate wiring from its profits, again all we see is mass profits for these companies and the so called ' we plough money back in to make it better ' speeches and now we see they don't, it will be the good old taxpayers to the rescue again. I say let MP's return their expenses into the fund then instead of us paying there might be enough in there for us all to have a rebate on our line 'JOKE' rental charge
Posted by bibby, 19 Jun 2009
Broadband Tax
This is totally unfair. Currently I pay for a line that delivers barely a quarter of the speed I should be getting because we live out in the sticks. Why should I, a pensioner, pay an additional sum to recieve something that is likely to still fall short of what others get because they happen to reside in an urban area.
Posted by Ken Owen, 19 Jun 2009
Never ending taxes !!!
This is just another of the government's never ending additional taxes and I do not believe for one moment that it will achieve the stated objective. Consumers are ripped off as it is - let those who make the profit provide the infrastructure - and as for the £6, they can go and get lost !!!
Posted by Malcolm Fraser, 19 Jun 2009
double payment
Those who already pay for broadband now have to pay again. Those like myself who live at the far reaches of telephone exchanges pay for poor service now, all the new levy means it will cost me more for a poor service. Those in the city will be thefirst to be upgraded and those of us in the "sticks" will still be left as we are, poor antoquated copper line speed
Posted by ksmith, 19 Jun 2009
Broadband Tax
If this £6 a year tax speeds up Broadband then it will be worth it.
Posted by harry scorfield, 19 Jun 2009
Broadband tax
Providing they start laying the lines rifgt away I think this is very fair.But I don't want to pay this and they start in a few years so I will be too old to appreciate this.
Posted by Melvyn Epstein, 19 Jun 2009
The tax-payer stumps up for yet another hair brained scheme
Yet again we the tax payer have no say in what we fund or what its benifit is to the public as a whole. Many people are happy with what they've got. Others are happy for the latest bells & whistles when it comes to gadgets. Personally I like gadgets and can't get enough of them, however, when it starts to cost me an arm and a leg for something I did not ask for then its time I stood up and rejected this scheme to fund through tax payers money. As already stated, what about the large businesses which will benifit more that the avereage 'Joe Bloggs'. Get them to dip into their very deep pockets full of mega profits which by the way we the consumer put there. If this scheme goes ahead I will do like most inteligent people will do and get rid of my telephone land line. Therefore no tax. I, like many millions of people in the UK own a mobile phone. Competiotion for customers is fierce with new deals all the time. The future is wireless so why not future proof this scheme and go with something which is more 21st century.
Posted by Michael Ustianowski, 19 Jun 2009
Broadband Copper Tax
All right - I expect I will be in the minority but I would gladly make such a small contribution if it helps to bring our old copper system up to date. I am fed up with reading about great broadband speeds when we have to rely on our old lines. We live miles from the nearest exchange and in a village with no cable service.
Posted by Roy Chapman, 19 Jun 2009
will rural areas really benefit?
Will any increase in the line speed be worth it to rural areas if urban areas get a speed increase then what is broadcast over the net is geared towards those with the fastest speeds so rural areas will be no better off, just ask someone who still has to use dial up
Posted by Dean, 19 Jun 2009
Telephone Tax
If the thieves in the house of commons did not make false claims of their expenses, we would not have to pay this stupid tax. It is just like the banks, the public bailed them out too. It seems we are to bail out the goverment as well. The public are getting fed up with having to bail everyone out. Our road tax, petrol,vat,gas,electric,water,beers,wines&spirits are dearer than anywhere else in the world. So come on Gordon Brown, make the UK proud again.
Posted by Peter Lamond, 19 Jun 2009
Telephone charge
I think BT get enough of our money in Telephone charges and the Goverment get more than enough with the vat on the phone charges we make.
Posted by Bob, 19 Jun 2009
not much
I dont think this is enough to worry anyone unduly, and all would benifit with better phone service. Agree that the service providers should contribute as well. All homes will eventually be connected to the internet as a matter of course when us older generation die out. I am 74, and find the internet a great boon.
Posted by Mrs J Blakesley, 19 Jun 2009
broad band tax
Terry Dowd has got it to a T.Every tax that has been allocated for roads ,etc. has fallen by the wayside. Look at the state of our roads.The BBC paying massive salaries to would be entertainers etc.repeats every day.Just to name a few.
Posted by archd. cameron, 19 Jun 2009
Unfair for all
I live in a rural location , I have broadband , BUT , there are no cheap options eg free broadband from sky -- my cheapest option is still unfair, and now our dear government wants me to pay another £6 on top for my phone line , why can't we have a level playing field on prices and let us all pay an equal price including maybe a couple of pounds FROM ALL internet users , we all need this investment, but the extra on the phone costs is unfair to all.
Posted by Josilvertitch, 19 Jun 2009
Disgusting
This is despicable. We are paying far too much in the way of taxes at present and this just seems yet another back-door to squeeze more out of everyone. BT has dragged its feet over a decent broadband system for all, not upgrading exchanges and cabling in a timely manner and should foot the bill accordingly. I wouldn't mind betting that not all the money (if implemented) goes to upgrades.
Posted by David, 19 Jun 2009
do we want it?
Did the Govt stop to think - many pensioner won't look at a computer, so the fee (which will rise) is a burden on their limited resources. Besides what about all the broadband users at present, this yearly collection will just vanish into the ether of funds that are used to cover pay the MP's allowances.
Posted by Doug Cheyne, 19 Jun 2009
Broadband Tax
Broadband users already pay for the service which also includes tax. The charges of the ISP's includes amounts for reseach into better broadband, better infastructure etc. Why should we pay the government more money for something that they are not qualified to deal with.
Posted by Dave Hayward, 19 Jun 2009
Broadband Tax
As a computer user living in a village I welcome the idea of paying £6 tax to help fund the better Broadband. I also wouldn't mind paying if I only had a telephone line as it only amounts to 1.64 pence/day which is less than half the cost of an hours evening talking time.
Posted by Joe Gibson, 19 Jun 2009
Broadbamd Tax
I don't think it's at all fair to the older generation who do not use PCs let alone broadband. They need a telephone line for emergencies. Many of them could not afford the extra money on top of their phone bills. Surely they could exempt people over the age of 75, as they do with TV licences
Posted by J Watson, 19 Jun 2009
Broadband Tax
My ISP is Tiscali, and in this area of Northampton, the maximum download is 512kb, so I would welcome the opportunity to increase the speed for the ''floor' of 2mb for a reasonable 50p per month,
Posted by Jerry Leahy, 20 Jun 2009
Yet Another Government Fund Raiser
Isn't it enough that our MP's are fleecing the country rotten, oh sorry, got that wrong, our MP's are making mistakes for which they are forever sorry. If I had made such mistakes in my job I would have sacked on the spot. I appreciate that sometime we broadband users will benefit from whatever improvements are made but when will that be. I am a silver surfer and don't have too many years to left to see any worthwhile changes. I don't resent the £6 charge but hope that I will see some benefit. I have just discovered yet another scam, this time by DVLA. £20 just to change the photograph on my Driving Licence. They have me by the proverbials, if I don't change the photo I lose my Licence !
Posted by retmoaner, 20 Jun 2009
Tax on Broadband
I think the tax should be ten pounds a year
Posted by Bryan, 20 Jun 2009
Yes please and No thank you
My initial reaction was that anything which would enable me to watch video clips on websites without having to wait for them to stop and start all the time would be wonderful. £6 a year to speed up my internet connection seems a small sum. Yet I can see the point others are making - why should we pay again, when we are supposedly paying already for a workable service? In the end, I think I'd pay up if that was the way forward.
Posted by Barbara Cooper, 20 Jun 2009
not for everyone
£6 for superfast broadband? Count me in. Oh...hang on, I live in a village that only got broadband about 5 years back. So I'll be paying for it, and someone in central London will get it instead. Tell you what, I'll pay for the copper wire when it appears in my area. Until then, it'll mostly be going for those who live in conurbations with a fibre-optic cable alternative running up their street.
Posted by Paul Loebig, 20 Jun 2009
Who will profit?
Let those companies who will profit from this pay for it (just as any other enterprise would invest in its future)
Posted by Kev Sharman, 20 Jun 2009
Broadband tax
I thought we were involved in "a credit crunch" scenarion and this is nothing else but another stealth tax.!!!!! If BT cannot affford to update the current cables from their astronomical profits their business should be handed to someone who can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Richard Gillam, 20 Jun 2009
conned again
i am sure the mps will agree on this new tax as they wil all be able to claim theirs on thier expenses us ordinary folk wil have to pay again for the maintenance of a structure that BT has been charging us for over the years
Posted by phillip hurley, 20 Jun 2009
Broadband Tax
Well Said Terry Worked as a B.T. telecoms engineer for 20 years, when I started there was no such thing as quality control etc or the word targets GPO Telephones back then had the upperhand over their customers for they were the only company to provide communications hand held mobile phones were a dream then a few years later a company called Mercury came on the scene they were only interested in trunk routes to all the major cities and wanted to put their cabling alongside our existing telecoms cable tracks to save them the expense of major works Redidential customer lines and services were of no interest to mercury for there was no money in it. So now millions of miles of copper and aluminuim cables need to be replaced underground what about all the telephone Poles out there with poor connections it will be very interesting to see which century they manage to do all this work for when I left BT there were a lot of redundancies
Posted by Brian P J Connerly, 20 Jun 2009
Broadband Tax
I am in favour of this as long as it provides a decent service for everyone. At the moment I am lucky if I get 150 kB/sec and this morning it was down to 35 kB. This is because I live in the country at the end of a long copper wire with no hope of an upgrade
Posted by Geoff Marsland, 20 Jun 2009
Broadband Tax
I do not think this is morally OK. Lots of elderly people and others who cannot afford to own a computer or have not the desire or ability to use a PC should not have to pay even more money out on their phone bills. At the present time if you choose to pay your phone bill other than direct debit you are penalised by another £4.50 per bill. I personally pay out more in other charges than phone calls made. At a time of credit crunch this is just making it even harder for people to pay their way.
Posted by Jan Savage, 20 Jun 2009
Cable Phones
I have a cable phone line supplied by Virgin Media - no copper wires there, unless I am mistaken! Therefore no £6 levy for me - what does everybody think?
Posted by Dave Smith, 21 Jun 2009
Broadband Fiddle!
One of the previous comments about Road Tax and TV Licence now not being used for it?s original purpose is absolutely correct. If there is a tax, and initially I thought £6 seems a good deal. However when I thought it through, I am sure it will eventually go the same way as the above Taxes. For that reason alone I am absolutely opposed to it. If the Government want everyone to have access to Faster Broadband, the revenues should be raised from existing Taxation methods. We need less ways to tax us NOT MORE. That way things will be more transparent. Oh dear did I say transparent? Westminster won't like that will they!!!
Posted by Robin Topping, 21 Jun 2009
Licence to make money
I do not agree with the £6.00 tax as BT and the Broadband companies make enough money out of us. They also do not provide the service or speed that we pay for. If the cost was cheaper and the speed and service was guaranteed then this would be different. The trouble is they want the money for them selves or share holders and when some thing like this happens then they expect people to and the trouble is we will because it is the way we are
Posted by Andy Sheppard, 21 Jun 2009
must be ringfenced
perhaps it would seem fairer if commercial businesses paid higher levy per line , as they will benifit most, and the very old who have a special one-way line pay nothing, with domestic fixed lines at £6
Posted by maazzaa, 22 Jun 2009
Broadband Tax
How can they justify a tax, it's like having to pay road tax without owning a car,and it will line the pockets of BT and it's share holders. Another scheme to screw the public.
Posted by Will Bloxidge, 22 Jun 2009
oh no not another tax
i think that this government is wrong,it is immoral that we the consumer is being forced to have to pay this charge.when i wanted broadband several years ago i changed my telephone account from bt to ntl so that i could have a better service.I had to pay for it without being subsidised by somebody else if people want broadband then let them pay for it out of there own pocket.this charge might start off at £6 per year but wherer will it stop 10yrs it might be £60 per year.what gives this government or for that matter any government interfering in this matter.
Posted by john rasmussen, 22 Jun 2009
Pay??
Why should we the consumers have to pay to ensure that we obtain a 'workable speed' from BT? Surely this is why we pay such an exorbitent amount of money to this greedy conglomerate in the first place? I live in a very rural area with less than one mb speed, and yet I have to pay the same amount as the city dwellers - I beleive that I have been subsidising BT for long enough - I also pay them a rent for the use of my phone, so why should I pay more good money to an overlarge, greedy, lazy and selfish firm such as BT?!! They have been in charge of the over priced and redunant lines for far too long. They really need some tough competition such as was metered out to the electricity companies etc so that WE get value for money.
Posted by ribenagal, 23 Jun 2009
Am I bothered
Making for the benefit of pensioners and investors many of whom are also pension funds or pensioners and the hard working families of Britain sounds absolutely terrible. I hadn't thought aboutt that. We must at all costs stop this tax. With tounge now out of cheek there are pro and cons to this argument. Why does computeractive persist in generating political argument all the time. I read a computer magazine to read about pcs.
Posted by Alan Pearse, 27 Jun 2009
broadband tax
Why should I pay to have BT lines upgraded when I use Virgin Cable
Posted by Mick Lutton, 27 Jun 2009