'Social exclusion' issues to be tackled by Digital Britain plan

The government's plan to deliver broadband speeds of at least two megabits per second (Mbps) will address issues of social exclusion as well as basic access problems.

Under the recently published Digital Britain report, the government has pledged to connect every UK home by 2012 and Stephen Dodson, national director at DC10plus, said the plan could help reach out to sections of society that have previously felt excluded in some way.

Having domestic broadband access allows people to access a wealth of resources from their living room, such as job-hunting tools and the ability to communicate more cheaply using VoIP solutions.

Addressing the Westminster eForum keynote seminar Broadband for All?, Mr Dodson said: "It actually isn't about digital participation, it's actually about tackling the big core social, economic [and] environmental [issues] and better service delivery."

Internet service providers are also under pressure to invest in next-generation broadband networks to offer connection speeds approaching 100Mbps and perhaps even beyond in a bid to keep Britain economically competitive.