Ofcom backs the universal broadband pledge

Ofcom has defended the government's universal service obligation (USO) as holding the right ingredients to lay the future roadmap of high-speed broadband in the UK.

Communications minister Lord Carter recently unveiled the pledge to deliver broadband of a minimum speed of 2Mbps to all UK households by 2012.

During a speech to the London School of Economics, Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards said that he is fully behind the plans as a way to bring a positive future to broadband in Britain.

"I think a broadband USO will make a significant contribution to filling in those gaps of availability and speed for a good basic level of service and this is a priority," he explained.

"There is almost no overstating how important it is to make sure we have the right circumstances for the next generation of broadband."

Ofcom will next month launch its latest report into the actual broadband speeds being delivered by internet service providers in the UK.