We’ve had a onlineFOCUS reader asking us about the forthcoming ‘phone tax’.
There is indeed a new tax coming , a 50p levy per month on all telephone landlines. As the Guardian explained last month:
The government is pressing ahead with controversial plans to levy a ?6 a year tax on all phone lines in Britain in order to fund the introduction of next generation broadband networks, Alistair Darling, the chancellor, confirmed today.
.
The levy was proposed by Junes’s Digital Britain report, but while the Darling confirmed today that he will be implementing that proposal, his pre-budget report also contained a glaring omission.
.
Lord Carter’s Digital Britain report recommended a tax break for the computer games industry, to help it fight a brain drain caused by increased competition from countries such as Canada and France who are offering fiscal incentives for developers to relocate.
.
As feared by the industry the so-called “cultural tax break” proposed by Lord Carter was absent from Darling’s speech to MPs.
One Guardian columnist was very critical:
…..as more and more stuff is put online, our internet connections will inevitably slow down unless capacity is expanded. Today, the amount of traffic generated by YouTube in one month alone is equivalent to the traffic of the entire Internet in 2000. Web users face the prospect of “brownouts”, experts warn, where their connections will become super-sluggish or be lost entirely.
.
And what is New Labour’s vision for dealing with this eminently fixable problem? It doesn’t have one.
.
When it comes to expanding the infrastructure, its big idea is a broadband tax to fund the expansion of broadband across Britain, including in rural areas.
.
Taxing everyone who has a phone line ?6, the government will raise around ?175m a year. Yet BT estimates that a budget of ?1.5bn is required to reach the target of having fibre in 40% of British homes by 2012, and that it will cost ?5bn to put fibre in every home.
.
It’s also unclear what the government plans to do with its tax revenue. It’s certainly not planning to take a lead in expanding broadband. Instead it says it will use the revenue as a “subsidy” to support commercial investment. The broadband tax looks more like a gesture than a vision, a sorry substitute for encouraging a positive climate of meaningful debate about, and commercial investment in, new-era infrastructure.
Fast Broadband, don’t make me laugh! I have just commented on this point and when I entered the comment, that super efficient company that offers UPTO 20MEG Broadband lost connection for me, for about the 100th time this month. I pay British Telecom to give me a good broadband service, I pay twenty four pounds a month to lose connection most days between 7.30 and 10pm and when I asked why, BT said because I am not next to an exchange (actually about half a mile away) I only get 1.5meg. How can the Government want six pounds from each household when we do not get fast broadband. Anyone know a good supplier of high speed broadband? I would be very grateful for comments!
When I looked to switch providers, TalkTalk offered download speeds of up to 24meg (not bad in comparison to BTs 20meg), They could only offer me 2.4meg because I live too far away from the exchange. 2.4meg is not fast!
Is there anywhere that you can check to see if there are plans to install the infrastructure for cable/fibre optic broadband in our area? Large areas of Basildon have had cable TV for decades, but you don’t ever see or hear about cable being installed anywhere.
Upminster was the last place I saw being updated with cable TV, and that must have been 10-15 years ago.
Are modern housing estates built with underground conduits in place ready to take cable, or would it involve lots of diggin up the pavements?
ST1, the Samknows website contains lots of good info which may include what you’re after (sorry if it’s not relevant)?
http://www.samknows.com/broadband/
Some of us are on the Wickford exchange and only get 512Kps
Even Samknows reckons I should get a whopping 1Mb all to myself 🙂
2.4 Mbs is still a pipedream!
If you feel strongly about this you can sign a petition to 10 Downing Street.
The petition, created by Tony Humphreys and reads:
‘We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to scrap the
plans to tax phone lines to subsidise other peoples broadband.’
If you disagree with the Governments 50p per month Phone Line Tax, that is to be become law this year, just fill in the form on the link below. You have until 27th February so act fast. (The 50p relates to the £6 that Admin have stated here on Online Focus)
Even if you don’t use your land line you will still be taxed, if you have multiple lines going into your property you will be taxed 50p per month for each line. The more people that complain the better chance of having it scrapped.
Please pass this on to all your contacts.
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/scrap50pphonetax/
Perhaps we should all go and live in Korea:
“The Korea Communications Commission is spending $24 billion to secure 1Gbps access by 2012.
“1Gbps allows you to download a 120-minute film in 12 seconds.”
I might just scrap BT and get a Dongle from one of the mobile providers, just sending me mad losing connectivity all the time! BT tell me that it wont improve here until 2011! Be seeing you BT!
This may sound really stupid, but if we do not get the fast broadband that they say we should have does the government pay us???? Or am I living in a different world?
Good point Christine, the government want us to pay even if we do not get fast broadband BUT should they not pay us, the people who do not get it. I personally think this is a sham by the government. It seems to me that there is more people in this country getting ‘super slow’ broadband than super fast! Do we have a Labour MP who can explain this to us. I am sure there are a few Labour MP’s who read this website!
Bryan, thanks, I used the Samknows web site when I was having trouble with my Sky Broadband. It turns out that if you live in west Rayleigh you can’t get free Sky broadband, if you live in east Rayleigh you do get it free – there are 2 exchanges, and on our one Sky had not installed there own equipment that would allow me to get the free broadband. Sky turned out to be useless when I queried their plans for updating the exchange, but thanks to the Samknows site I found out that Tiscali (now TalkTalk) would take over my phone line and give me free line rental, so now have a phone/broadband package that is pretty reasonable.
I don’t recall Samknows having any information on cable roll-out.
ST1, unless it’s already too late you can also get £24 back by signing up through Quidco or topcashback;
http://www.quidco.com/utilities/broadband-digital-tv/talktalk/
http://www.topcashback.co.uk/retailerdetailTalk_Talk.htm
i have BB at my unit in Battlesbridge, and that is a good 4miles + from the Wickford exchange. and i get 2 to 3 Mbs. i Only have issues when the water gets into their wires up the pole. get the same at home to.
🙂 🙂 🙂