The government has backed a plan to introduce a
universal broadband network service running at two megabits per
second by 2012.
It will also revise the powers of the communications industry
regulator Ofcom to ensure it can strike the balance between
supporting competition and encouraging investment.
The decisions were announced in the
Budget speech on Wednesday.
They pre-empt communications minister Stephen Carter's final
report on Digital Britain, expected in late May, which is
looking at ways and means to introduce high-speed next-generation
networks.
The government
plans to use money unspent by the BBC to convert to digital
broadcast technology. The National Audit Office believes this
amounts to £250m.
A detailed plan for the roll-out will be published in the final
Digital Britain report.
The move will bring Britain into line with European Commission
moves to mandate a universal broadband service in every member
state
Business secretary Peter Mandelson said transformational
technologies like broadband had to be "genuinely available" to
nearly all. "We need government action to ensure UK firms have the
capacity to compete for the economic opportunities it brings."
Communications minister Stephen Carter said the 2mbps universal
service was "a baseline for both next-generation networks and for
the next-generation delivery of public services."
The government also gave the go-ahead for Yorkshire Forward, a
regional development agency, to spend a £100m on a next-generation
broadband network in South Yorkshire.