High-speed broadband may cost £30bn

Plans to provide every household in the UK with high-speed broadband may cost nearly £30 billion, according to a report by a government advisory group.

The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) found that rolling-out the fibre-based technology may cost between £5.1 billion and £28.8 billion depending on the technology used.

It was also claimed that costs for rural areas would greatly exceed that in cities and towns.

"This is the most comprehensive analysis produced to date on the costs of deploying fibre in the UK," said BSG chief executive Antony Walker.

"The scale of the costs looks daunting but the report does shed light on how some of these costs can be reduced and what the likely extent of commercial rollout will be.

"It should focus minds of commercial players, policymakers and regulators on the potential solutions to these challenges."

The cheapest technology looked at was street-level boxes, costing £5.1 billion, while the most expensive was point-to-point fibre, which would require £28.8 billion.