'Faster Digital Britain target speed needed'

The UK should target a faster baseline broadband connection speed than the two megabits-per-second (Mbps) figure outlined in the recent Digital Britain report, says Broadband Genie.

According to the broadband comparison website, the report soon to be issued by the commons business and enterprise committee evaluating the figure should find the 2Mbps target lacks ambition and will have little benefit for web users.

Faster speeds such as those delivered through next-generation fibre optic networks could provide more efficient use of VoIP solutions and faster download speeds.

Chris Marling, editor at Broadband Genie, said: "We can only hope the government's business and enterprise select committee, which announced recently it was holding an enquiry into broadband speed following Digital Britain, will have a little more backbone."

He went on to describe the 2Mbps target as "woefully in adequate" that will have very little meaning for web users by 2012.

New research from broadband industry regulator Ofcom reveals that over a quarter of web users do not receive the speeds they expected from their internet service provider.