Digital Britain ‘to speed UK recovery’

Link to the article: Channel 4 News

By Benjamin Cohen, Victoria Macdonald

Licence money to pay for local news services and a levy to fund high-speed broadband are two of the measures contained in today’s Digital Britain report.

BBC licence money will be used to fund independent local news services, as part of the government’s Digital Britain proposals.

Presenting the Digital Britain report in the Commons, Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw also said that a “small levy” would be imposed on fixed telephone lines to fund expansion of high-speed broadband across Britain.

In addition, the government intends to upgrade all national radio stations from analogue to digital by 2015.

Bradshaw told MPs the Digital Britain report would “accelerate Britain’s recovery from the biggest economic shock the world has seen since the second world war.”

Channel 4 News technology correspondent Benjamin Cohen writes: "I’ve spoken to sources at both BT, Sky and TalkTalk, all of whom have confirmed to me that they were unaware of the planned £6 a year levy in order to pay for super-fast broadband.

"I’ve been told that there is confusion both within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and among telecoms providers as to whether customers will ultimately be charged the £6 or whether telecoms companies may choose to absorb the costs themselves.

"A source close to Sky told me that a tax to fund next-generation super-fast broadband is unwise, given that there is yet to be proof of demand for services that need really fast internet connection.”