The Government has today launched a new body, Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), which will drive forward the Universal Service Commitment (USC) to deliver "at least" 2Mbps to every household by 2012. It will also manage the spend of its £1bn 'Next Generation Fund' (NGF), which comes from the controversial 50p phone line tax, to deliver next generation broadband to 90% of the country by 2017.

The group, or bureaucracy if you prefer, has been launched alongside a report that forecasts the future reach of next generation broadband across the UK up to 2017 and based on three scenarios (Download the 114 Page .PDF).

1. A purely market-led approach,

2. A network subsidised by the Digital Britain ‘Next Generation Fund’ and;

3. Local interventions (such as the Yorkshire Forward Digital Region initiative in South Yorkshire) supplementing a subsidised network.

The report naturally supports the "effectiveness" of Government’s proposed Next Generation Fund in the form of a 50p +vat monthly tax on all fixed lines in increasing next generation broadband coverage to 90% of the population by 2017 – 20% more than predicted if left to an entirely market-led approach.

Interestingly it also points to a number of ongoing initiatives, which seek to remove barriers to, and increasing the likelihood of, investment in NGA networks. One of these is clarifying the rules surrounding the valuation of fibre assets by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), who are said to be working with the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) to provide clarity on the current regime. We would rather they just cut it.

UPDATE - 5th March 2010

Consumer Focus response to the launch of Broadband Delivery UK.