Posted: 10th Jul, 2009 By: MarkJ
BT has called on mobile phone users to be included in the government’s plans for a next generation broadband tax, which will force every owner of a fixed telephone line in the UK to stump up an extra 50p per month (
related news). Under Lord Carter's Digital Britain report, this cash would go into a
Next Generation Fund and support the rollout of even faster broadband technologies.
However BT's Director of Industry Policy and Regulation, Emma Gilthorpe, is displeased that mobile operators should also be able to bid for part of the
Next Generation Fund without contributing to it themselves. It's certainly a fair point, although we don't yet know for sure whether or not any of them will try.
There are also other problems to consider, such as the significant use of pay-as-you-go (payg) mobile services that would make it difficult to impose any kind of levy. Not to mention the already hot and seemingly endless debate over mobile voice and data roaming prices.
On top of that some, but not all, mobile operators have shown a reluctance to open up their spectrum bands for use by rivals in the extension of 3G/4G Mobile Broadband services. Should they be allowed new cash without giving anything back to help the cause? Perhaps not.
Mind you it’s not as if this argument is unique to just mobile operators, a weaker yet similar dilemma could also be placed at the feet of both wireless (Wi-Fi) and satellite ISPs too. Then again, satellites are hardly cheap and tend to exist somewhat outside (way above) our borders.