Are you satisfied with the internet service in and around Thornbury?

In August this year Steve Webb MP asked constituents about a

proposed 50p per month ‘broadband tax’, a tax on every household that was

intended to pay for high speed broadband throughout the United Kingdom. The

questions posed was “Do you support the proposal for a temporary 50p per month

levy on telephone line rentals to pay for high speed broadband to be made

available everywhere in Britain by 2017?”.

I was reminded of this survey when the BBC announced

yesterday that Britain was ranked 25th out of 66 countries in terms

of the quality and reach of its broadband services. The survey considered

Britain to be capable of meeting necessary standards today, but it also said

that we were not yet ready for future applications to broadband services.

Given that our readers rely on an internet connection to

read Thornbury People, I assumed that the question of internet quality in the

local area should be of great importance to many residents. I have no problems

from my home in Alveston, but it would be interesting to hear your views on how

necessary an additional tax would be if it were simply intended to fund

broadband quality and availability.

The survey conducted in August showed that a large majority of

people opposed the additional tax; with residents arguing that broadband access

is not a necessity and that such a tax would be unfair to those who do need

want or need an internet connection.

What are your views on the matter? If you need some more

information before commenting then check out Steve Webb’s findings here and the

BBC article here.