Licence fee could be used to fund superfast broadband

The government has confirmed that it may use part of the TV licence fee to fund the rollout of superfast broadband services.

In a document setting out the aims of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government, titled “The Coalition: our programme for government”, it is stated that the “rapid” rollout of faster broadband is still a priority.

Furthermore, it is stressed that any initiative will cover rural areas as well as urban areas, while BT and other providers will have to open up their infrastructure to deliver the services.

The document adds: “If necessary, we will consider using the part of the TV licence fee that is supporting the digital switchover to fund broadband in areas that the market alone will not reach.”

Another important part of the programme is to “end the storage of internet and email records without good reason”.

A number of experts have recently suggested that Britain could be risking its economic future if it does not prioritise the rollout off superfast broadband services.

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