new internet tax

I pay £30 a month for my internet, luckily through Virgin so I hope they don't want to tax me when I don't touch their copper rubbish!
 
jmhduck said:
I don't think this will happen. Although I think the current system where a lot of people have free internet is ridiculous. I think £20-£30 a month for the average family is reasonable and higher users should be prepared to pay £40-£50 a month (I'm talking 150Gig plus users).
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Broadband for free is a stupid idea. £40-50 for people who download more than 150Gb well that's me I wont pay more than £40 for broadband I can tell you that now. I wouldn't pay more than £30.
 
Xee said:
Maybe because you meet them online?
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lol you know what I mean :D

Orcish-Horde said:
Sence when have they needed a reason to increase a tax? ;)
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I think many people will wave their keyboards if they raised an already questionable tax.

Personally I think the approach is terrible. I would like the government to take control of the improvement of our broadband services, but I think taxing just those on copper networks isnt the right approach.

If anything remove the tax we pay via our isps and use that instead of the 50p a month and apply it to all service (fibre optic included) and provide a network like ftth as well as improved broadband access (on trains, busses etc) with wifi as well as our emergency services which have been asking for this for a long time.

I can see the justification in the cost - but I dont believe the government would know what to do with the money when they had it.

"Improving the networks" is only one part of the bigger picture - having a good bb connection at home isnt much use if you do a lot of travelling. and what good will a static broadband network be when we get 4g/5g/etc? when I can get a 2mb bb speed from my phone via air waves - I would take that over broadband in my house any day. Yet I see no mention of this from the government. I just see the words "improve network" shoved in my face like its going to change my life. Yet it really doesnt describe anything.
 
BBCnews said:
The main points outlined in the report include:

• a three-year plan to boost digital participation

• universal access to broadband by 2012

• fund to invest in next generation broadband

• digital radio upgrade by 2015

• liberalisation of 3G spectrum

• legal and regulatory attack on digital piracy

• support for public service content partnerships

• changed role for Channel 4

• consultation on how to fund local, national and regional news

• £130m of BBC licence fee to pay for ITV regional news
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8102756.stm

3 year plan
Fair enough. The economy is in the doldrums anyway, a shot in the arm is always good.

Universal broadband access (at 2mbit/s)
If these connections aren't currently viable, why will they suddenly become viable once connected? They won't. It'll be a millstone around all broadband users necks.
Subsidies paid straight into the bank accounts of BT and VM? Billiant.
More money for your shareholders? Sure why not!

Is this 50p really necessary? We're talking miniscule amounts for something which will generate far more revenue and wealth in the long term - It's bound to rise, guarenteed. (Say, £1 per mbit/s per month?)

Fund to invest in next generation broadband
That's what VM and BT should be doing. Free market? Competition? Ring any bells?
Nope, thought not. Shovel more money into private enterprise - GREAT SUCCESS!

Digital radio upgrade by 2015
Sure, providing it's ACTUALLY an upgrade.
Not like analogue -> DAB where the amount of trash stations increased but the sound quality on all the channels worth listening to was reduced.

Liberalisation of 3G spectrum
Wasn't that the point of the 3G spectrum auction which netted the government a very healthy £27 billion instead of the expected £5 billion?
Get bent you thieves.

Legal and regulatory attack on digital piracy
How about a 'Legal and regulatory attack on price fixing and overcharging in the entertainment industry'? You go first. Go on.

Consultation on how to fund local, national and regional news
JOBS FOR CONSULTANTS! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

Overall, less than impressed for the future of this country.

(Relating to a point made a few pages back:
Thatcher promised Fibre to every home in the UK.
BT wanted it badly.
Thatcher decided it would be monopolistic and instead gave the two fibre licenses to her friends... I mean their companies.
Said companies made fat profits and invested zilch.
Result: The situation we have today - Brilliant. The sooner Thatcher dies the better.
 
Teki187 said:
Sorry but if your naive enough to believe this is going to benefit the internet and increase our speeds, then you need to get your head checked.
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I will get zero benefit from paying the tax. I won't mind paying it so that everyone in the country can have access to something I take for granted. Seriously how much of a dent will 50p a month put in your pocket!
 
uvarvu said:
I will get zero benefit from paying the tax. I won't mind paying it so that everyone in the country can have access to something I take for granted. Seriously how much of a dent will 50p a month put in your pocket!
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It will go up.
Why should you subsidise connections that aren't otherwise commercially viable?
 
Yamahahahahaha said:
It will go up.
Why should you subsidise connections that aren't otherwise commercially viable?
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Because it's in this country's best interest? Just a thought like.

If we only built things when they were commercially viable then we probably wouldn't have a telephone network, or national grids for gas and electricity.
 
scorza said:
Because it's in this country's best interest? Just a thought like.

If we only built things when they were commercially viable then we probably wouldn't have a telephone network, or national grids for gas and electricity.
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Let's put a number to this.
There were 13,957,111 broadband subscribers in the UK in 2007.
50p tax each, we're looking at a whopping £7 million a year (Edit: Month)!!!!

If was REALLY in the country's best interest (And it was a realistic level of tax to set), I'm sure the government could find £7 million a month / £84 million a year from somewhere.
How about firing some NHS consultants whose job it is to con and insult?
Hell, they've poured billions into the big brother state, what difference would £7 million quid make to them!?!?!

I know this must come as a shock to you, but since privitisation, things aren't run at a loss any more! Crazy I know!
Nor are they run for the benefit of the country! Crazy huh!?
What's even more crazy is that you're saying we should give this tax money to private companies to do work they would do anyway if it was profitable!!!
Brilliant.
 
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Yamahahahahaha said:
Let's put a number to this.
There were 13,957,111 broadband subscribers in the UK in 2007.
50p tax each, we're looking at a whopping £7 million a year!!!!
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except they're taxing phone connections not internet connections.

The report proposed a 50p-a-month levy on all fixed telephone lines
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So how many people have a working phone line?
 
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scorza said:
Because it's in this country's best interest? Just a thought like.

If we only built things when they were commercially viable then we probably wouldn't have a telephone network, or national grids for gas and electricity.
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There's no reason why the government can't fund the network out of the taxes we already pay but as ever instead of cutting waste spending they choose to tax more.
 
Tefal said:
except they're taxing phone connections not internet connections.
So how many people have a working phone line?
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I have no idea!
Let's assume every single person in the UK has a phone line. (Extreme upper-end of the scale)

The UK population estimate in July 2008; 60,943,912.
50p levy on each person, £30.5 million.

I'm fairly sure that's equal to the amount of £50 notes Tony Blair used as toilet paper every year he was in office. Possibly less.

The reasons for this tax are flimsy at best.
 
Yamahahahahaha said:
Let's put a number to this.
There were 13,957,111 broadband subscribers in the UK in 2007.
50p tax each, we're looking at a whopping £7 million a year!!!!

If was REALLY in the country's best interest (And it was a realistic level of tax to set), I'm sure the government could find £7 million a year from somewhere.
How about firing some NHS consultants whose job it is to con and insult?
Hell, they've poured billions into the big brother state, what difference would £7 million quid make to them!?!?!

I know this must come as a shock to you, but since privitisation, things aren't run at a loss any more! Crazy I know!
Nor are they run for the benefit of the country! Crazy huh!?
What's even more crazy is that you're saying we should give this tax money to private companies to do work they would do anyway if it was profitable!!!
Brilliant.
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So you're against these people in rural areas having phone lines in the first place? Since it must be commercially unviable to build exchanges there in the first place? Likewise with roads - sorry villagers, only 200 people live here, it's not commercially viable to build a road here - stick to horses.

Governments provide the infrastructure for businesses to do what they do best - doing business. It's clear that selling this telecommunications infrastructure off on the cheap was a massive mistake by the Thatcher government, one which means that we as taxpayers unfortunately now have to subsidise private companies. However not doing it is going to cause much more harm in the long term.
 
2MB is pretty pathetic when you consider many homes in the US are now starting to get fibre to the door. (BT plan on rolling out fibre to the cabinet)

I'd gladly pay 50p if they would plough money in to whole infrastucture by laying fibre but all they're going to do is waste the money and increase the tax year on year.

For those saying they shouldn't see why they should pay for others to get broadband. Grow up. I live in the sticks and we barely get 2MB.. yet I pay the same amount of monies for the "service" and I sure as hell know BT aren't coming around here with fibre anytime. What if you move?
 
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