2012 broadband target scrapped

The government has confirmed that the target of universal broadband by 2012 is to be scrapped.

Although the coalition government had previously signalled that it would continue to work towards the 2MB broadband, it has now claimed that there is not enough funding in place to achieve it.

Instead, it has signalled that the broadband services should be made available across the country by the end of the current parliament – which would be in 2015.

However, in a speech to the Broadband Industry Event, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt maintained that faster services were still a priority for the government.

“I hope you are in no doubt whatsoever about how important the government considers broadband as a part of our economic infrastructure,” he said.

“All of us share the ambition that, by the end of this parliament, this country should have the best superfast broadband in Europe and be up there with the very best in the world.”

Business organisations in rural areas have previously raised concerns that they may get left behind as urban areas move towards faster broadband services.

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