Universal 2Mbps Broadband Britain on ice until 2015

Can't guarantee minimum speed in time for the Olympics, says Hunt...

The government has announced its timescale for achieving universal 2Mbps broadband in the UK, saying the target may not be realised until 2015.

The 2Mbps universal service policy was originally proposed by the Labour government, and last month the coalition's Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt, said the new government would also support the policy.

But while Labour's general election manifesto pledged that virtually every household in the country would have 2Mbps broadband access by 2012, the government's timescale is less optimistic.

Universal access to 2Mbps broadband may take another five years
(Photo credit: Shutterstock)

"I've looked at the provision that the previous government made to achieve [2Mbps universal broadband access] by 2012 and... I'm not convinced they've put sufficient funding in place.

"So while we will keep working towards that date we have set ourselves a more realistic target of achieving universal 2Mbps access within the lifetime of this parliament," Hunt told a broadband industry day in London today.

The next general election is due to take place in May 2015.