Ed Vaizey, the minister for communication, culture and the creative industries, took questions on subjects ranging from the taxing of fibre to net neutrality and the Digital Economy Act.
Vaizey, who had a meeting with the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) on Monday, said the business rates charged by that agency on fibre would not be reviewed. Small communications companies have described the charges as onerous.
"The key is that the system is transparent," Vaizey said. "My job is to work with the VOA to bring my issues to the table. We don't need to go through the rigmarole of a review."
This statement contrasts with the Conservatives' pre-election stance. The party had said that it would look at the case for changing business rates to ensure that there were no longer any disadvantages for new market entrants.
"I can't promise solutions, but what I can do is promise dialogue," Vaizey said. "We will make rapid progress. When I know what progress means, I will let you know."
ZDNet UK asked Vaizey for his opinion of the Digital Economy Act. "We [the government] can live with what was passed by Parliament," he replied. "Broadly speaking, it's relatively light touch. It's important to make the point that any kind of disconnections will be temporary."
Vaizey surprised many of those present by saying he had never heard of Acta, the global copyright treaty being negotiated behind closed doors.
Reacting to a question about this week's net neutrality proposal from Google and Verizon, Vaizey said net neutrality was "an issue that we [the government] will have to address ourselves".
"Broadly speaking, we're in favour of net neutrality," he added. "It's an issue that will cross my desk. The government is in receive mode rather than transmit mode."
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