Broadband tax scrapped

The levy on broadband lines - known to many as the broadband tax - has been scrapped in a shock move that may affect future UK VoIP traffic.

The 50p per month broadband tax is estimated to have had the potential to raise around £170 million a year to help fund UK broadband provisioning.

However, the tax has been dropped, leaving the issue to founder until the results of the election are in.

Malcolm Corbett, chief executive of the Independent Networks Cooperative Association (Inca) told the BBC that "the government will have to raise money by other means, perhaps by getting the private sector and the communities themselves involved. With them on board, you have a fighting chance of achieving universal access".