The Budget has given backing to the roll-out of universal broadband in the UK - but the plan has come in for criticism.
Government plans to provide the entire UK with broadband have been backed in the Budget, but some industry voices have criticised the move.
Communications minister Stephen Carter introduced the proposal in his Digital Britain report earlier in the year. The plan involves ensuring the whole of the UK population has access to broadband capable of speeds of at least 2Mbps.
The Treasury revealed that the cost of providing the service would be partly funded by underspend from the BBC's Digital TV switchover promotion.
"It is vital to ensure the entire country and economy benefits from the digital age," said chancellor Alistair Darling in his Budget speech. "So I am allocating extra funding for digital investment, to help to extend the broadband network to almost every community."
However, some telecommunications experts have criticised Lord Carter's proposal in the past, arguing that 2Mbps is too slow. As a result of the backing in the Budget, more commentators have voiced disapproval.
"It falls far short of everything the market was expecting," said Matthew Howett, a telecoms analyst at Ovum. "It is nowhere near BT's commitment to true superfast broadband. The government seems prepared to offer the people of the future the slow broadband available today, rather than invest in faster speeds to actually help the economy."
