UK government extends 2 Mbps broadband goal to 2015

Facing a current lack of funding, the UK government has decided that the more realistic timeline to achieve its universal 2 Mbps broadband goal is going to be 2015, not 2012 as originally planned.

Jeremy Hunt, the U.K.'s new culture secretary recently said that "by the end of this parliament, this country should boast the best super-fast broadband in Europe and be up there with the very best in the world."

Following its rejection of the previous administration's .77 tax proposal on every UK wireline phone line, the UK government will leverage part of the BBC's license fee to pay for the project. In addition, the government will continue to encourage incumbent operators (BT) and competitors to share access to their respective broadband networks. In March, UK telecom regulator put forth a requirement that BT share its fiber network and related assets (fiber ducts) to competitors.

For more:
- TeleGeography has this article

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