Ryan: Broadband TAX to hit the UK next year

The government's controversial broadband tax has been given the green light by chancellor Alistair Darling in his pre-Budget report.

The £6 a year levy will be imposed on all households with a fixed line phone.

The money made will be put into a fund to ensure rural areas of the UK do not miss out on super-fast broadband services.

Mr Darling said the government would provide super-fast broadband to 90% of the UK by the end of 2017.

Announcing the tax, Mr Darling said: "We are modernising the UK's digital infrastructure and, in the process, creating thousands more skilled jobs.

We have provided funding to help extend the opportunities of the broadband network to more remote communities. We now want to go further, so we can provide the next generation of super-fast broadband to 90 per cent of the population by the end of 2017."