Lord Carter: 2Mbps universal connectivity a technological minimum wage

Consumers should consider the government's two megabits-per-second (Mbps) universal connectivity target a baseline akin to a technological minimum wage, according to Lord Carter.

The former government minister and author of the recent Digital Britain report said ensuring every home has access to broadband is the number one priority in order to maximise social inclusivity, reports eWEEK Europe.

He described the targeted speed as a "base level" and added that pursuing faster speeds would be prohibitively expensive at the moment.

Quicker broadband speeds could help users access more efficient download times and increase the effectiveness of VoIP solutions.

Speaking at the IP09 event at London's Olympia, Lord Carter told the website: "Universal 2Mbps broadband is the technological equivalent of the minimum wage. You have to have a base level, but we also have to have an answer to the quality question."

Many businesses have said that the 2Mbps target falls short of what they will need by 2012, as a range of applications in existing IT systems already need faster connections.