The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has been condemned for opting for a broadband fixed wireless auction which may leave many areas of the UK without coverage.

The decision breaks a key government pledge on making broadband access universally available.

E-minister Patricia Hewitt announced last month that there will be three licences available in 11 UK regions and in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

However, Stephen Lowe, executive chairman of the Broadband Wireless Association (BWA), said: "The formula that the government has chosen could leave 30 per cent of the population without broadband coverage." He said the likelihood of high auction bids could prevent companies from bidding in more rural regions.

Martin O'Neil MP, chairman of the Trade and Industry Select Committee, shares the BWA's concerns. "The committee intends to raise this issue with the DTI," he said. "The issue is really social inclusion. This is what we have to ensure."

Steve Thorpe, membership services manager of the Telecommunications User Association, said: "There are many businesses in rural areas in the UK, and this would mean that they would have no choice but to stick with existing narrow-band services."

Lowe pointed out that ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) technology would not be viable in more rural areas because it is dependent on the client property being close to the exchange. The BWA wants what it claims is a fairer system for awarding the licences. It wants a hybrid system, combining an auction with a 'beauty contest' - where the licence does not necessarily go to the highest bidder.

Lowe said the current auction would mean that large sections of society could be left without any broadband wireless access - thus breaking a key pledge made by Prime Minister Tony Blair in a key government document, Broadband Britain, published in 1998.

Peter Williams, senior analyst at DataWatch, said it is clear that the government is hoping to engineer a repeat of the revenue-gathering 3G auction earlier this year.

"Coming into election year, the government needs to have a good-looking revenue plan so that it can splash out on vote-catching services. However, an auction might not be in the best interests of consumers," he said.

First published in Network News