Ed Vaizey: Broadband tax not necessary

Shadow culture minister Ed Vaizey said the implementation of a broadband tax should not be necessary to help fund the development of next-generation networks.

The government recently announced plans to impose a £6-a-year tax on every home with a telephone line before the next general election in order to raise money for next-generation broadband and assist with its universal connectivity policy.

Mr Vaizey said the tax should not be necessary as the satellite and cable revolutions both took place in the UK without having to rely on a similar move, reports MCVUK.com.

He told the website: "The cable revolution happened without a cable tax. The satellite revolution happened without a satellite tax. Simply introducing an extra tax is an old economy solution to a new economy problem."

BT and Virgin Media are two of the major internet service providers investing large sums in the development of next-generation networks that could improve the efficiency of VoIP hardware and deliver faster download speeds.