Universal connectivity could save UK £17bn

Achieving the targets set out recently in the government's universal connectivity plan could save the UK economy £17 billion a year through more flexible work conditions.

Research from Orange and YouGov reveals that nearly 90 per cent of Britons would work from home at least some of the time if they could, with 16 per cent of workers willing to take a pay cut of nearly £7,000 a year if they could work from wherever they wanted.

The government has pledged to deliver a connection speed of at least two megabits per second (Mbps) to every UK home by 2012 and the plan could allow more people to work from home, potentially using VoIP solutions to communicate with colleagues.

James Bellini, a research with YouGov, told ComputerWeekly.com: "E-workers will be more productive, better motivated and happier. The businesses they work for will be more adaptable, more responsive to changing market conditions and more profitable."

BT and Virgin Media are both investing in fibre optic broadband networks that will deliver speeds far greater than 2Mbps.