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Digital Britain - Tax to fund fast internet access

  • Thread starter Scottish Business Owner
  • Start date
Scottish Business Owner

Scottish Business Owner

New Member
Reading reports today about the digital britain report and a proposed 50p per month tax on your fixed landline to fund the next generation of fast internet access.

Just wondering what other people think of this. Are you happt to pay this or not? Also how important do you feel fast broadband is to the country as a whole?

You can find more details on the digital britain report from the link below :)

BBC NEWS | Technology | Tax to pay for fast net access
 
abs

abs

New Member
I get ridiculously slow broadband speed at the moment <500kbs. But if I could be guaranteed decent speeds, yes I would pay extra for it. There is nothing worse than waiting for downloads or even trying to upload to backup files.

Theresia
 
Mike Lewis

Mike Lewis

New Member
... if I could be guaranteed decent speeds, yes I would pay extra for it.

Agreed. But the point is that everyone will be paying, whether they use broadband or not.
 
stugster

stugster

Active Member
My Gran has never been on the Internet in her life. She lives in an area where high-speed Internet is available. But yet, she's going to have to pay an extra 50p?! Crazy crazy idea from our crazy crazy politicians.
 
Well the pouint is Stu that the internet, like the roads, schools, hospitals etc is something that is now so central to the way business, public services and the social life of the country operate it's something everyone benefits from; Directly or indirectly...

With that said I think the eldery should be getting a basic 'phone service for free.

My main objections to the task are that it...

1) Will be mis-appropriated by our dishonest politicians and their cronies

2) The contracts to do this work won't go to competent people; Rather the money will just continue to feed the old boy network!

3) Is really just a box-ticking exercise that will achive nothing practical...
 
Mike Lewis

Mike Lewis

New Member
the internet, like the roads, schools, hospitals etc is something that is now so central to the way business, public services and the social life of the country operate it's something everyone benefits from;

If that's the case, Matt, then it should be paid for out of taxation. This levy is quite different from other taxes, for two reasons:

1. It is not based either on ability to pay (like income tax) or on an activity deemed to be undesirable (like smoking or using a land fill).

2. It is being raised for a specific purpose, a concept alien to the British tax system. (There've been examples in the past: road tax was originally meant to pay for roads; national insurance for retirement and unemployment benefits; but for several decades, the principle has been that all tax money goes into a single pot; expenditure is not directly related to the amount raised.)

The landline levy seems completely arbitrary. I can think of no good reason why you should be obliged to pay for something that you might never use just because you happen own a phone. If a particular group of people will benefit, they should be the ones to pay for it. If it's deemed to be for the good of everyone, then it should come out of general taxation, just like roads and sewers.

Just my humple o.
 
If that's the case, Matt, then it should be paid for out of taxation. This levy is quite different from other taxes, for two reasons:

1. It is not based either on ability to pay (like income tax) or on an activity deemed to be undesirable (like smoking or using a land fill).

2. It is being raised for a specific purpose, a concept alien to the British tax system. (There've been examples in the past: road tax was originally meant to pay for roads; national insurance for retirement and unemployment benefits; but for several decades, the principle has been that all tax money goes into a single pot; expenditure is not directly related to the amount raised.)

The landline levy seems completely arbitrary. I can think of no good reason why you should be obliged to pay for something that you might never use just because you happen own a phone. If a particular group of people will benefit, they should be the ones to pay for it. If it's deemed to be for the good of everyone, then it should come out of general taxation, just like roads and sewers.

Just my humple o.

You're quite right of course. And you raise a point I had (like I suspect many people) quite forgotten about! Pseudo-Specific taxes have of course been mis-appropriated for decades!
 

Boxby

New Member
Do I trust the gvt to pay it over? Well, our local council demanded several thousands of pounds from the affordable housing scheme for contribution towards improving and the "nearest located" playpark facilities. The nearest located facilities are a privately funded park. The council has never paid over the funds, or even made the property management company aware that these funds were paid to the council for this in the first place.

Would I trust the gvt to handover that money direct for the services it was levied for? No.

I think that the expenses thing, the total financial mismanagement of most of the local councils, have just produced a population that are totally cynical with the lowest possible expectations of anyone involved in public service.

Its a sorry state.
 
Gordon N

Gordon N

New Member
Its a sorry state.

You know what? Your absolutley right!

I was all for devolution for Scotland but always anti-independance, with the mess this country is in just now I honestly think I could be swayed! :huh:

It might even be a route out of all this hassle! :001_tongue:
 
Rickwood Portpatrick

Rickwood Portpatrick

New Member
Living in a wee village at the tail end of Scotland, I don`t see us getting "fast" broadband ever. So why should we have to pay for it? Apart from that, I`m not particularly wanting fast broadband, the basic broadband we have is fine for our purposes so , once again, why should we pay more.

Stranraer is about to get switched off from analogue tv later this month which will no doubt create a lot of problems and will have boosted the shares of Argos and companies making set top boxes . Thankfully we get out tv from Belfast to it is not an issue yet for us but I will miss seeing the scottish news! Has anyone noticed how poor the sound quality is from digital tv. It is far quieter than analog and less distinct!

Now they are talking about swithing off FM radio at some point in the future. Again, digital radio is of poorer sound quality than FM and digital radios use more energy than analogue ones so where`s the benefit there.

It seems to be just a ploy to make us buy things we don`t want as a result of the government creating a need under the guise of boosting the economy!
 

Boxby

New Member
I wish that they would concentrate efforts on the energy efficiency side of things. As Scots, probably a large proportion of us not living in towns live or have lived in an old scottish house, with drafts, rattly sash windows, no loft insultation (no loft!!),big thick stone walls, bizarre floor plans, and an individual internal mini micro climate.

Compound this with the local authorities requirements that anywhere which is a conservation area, or a listed building, had to stick to using outdated inefficient materials and techniques for windows/building etc. Then it means a lot of us are simply through our money out the window when it comes to heating.

Maybe they'd be better putting in Mains Sewerage, or Mains Gas. Fuel poverty is high in Scotland due to the fact that great big chunks of the population are limited to solid fuel heating or calor gas bottles. That would be an investment that would make a difference.

There seem to be so many things that really do impact heavily on peoples and lives before broadband. Fast broadband, although a nice to have, isn't necessarily a must have.
 
Mike Lewis

Mike Lewis

New Member
Now they are talking about swithing off FM radio at some point in the future. Again, digital radio is of poorer sound quality than FM and digital radios use more energy than analogue ones so where`s the benefit there.

You're right. Switching to digital radio will be much more difficult than switching to digital TV.

For one thing, FM radio is much more pervasive than analogue TV. Most of us have one or maybe two TVs in the home -- three, perhaps, in some cases. But we have dozens of radios. They're embedded in all sorts of devices from mobile phones to MP3 players. We have FM car radios, shower radios, kitchen radios .... I even know someone who has a pair of FM-enabled sunglasses.

Obviously we won't be able to buy a set-top box for all these devices. We'll either have to replace them (with more power-hungry devices) or do without.

I can't see the point. It's not as if there's a crying demand for more channels. ("Gosh, if only there were more radio channels availabe, life would be so much better.")

Yes, it's yet another case of forcing us to buy things we can live quite happily without.
 
Gordon N

Gordon N

New Member
I can't see the point. It's not as if there's a crying demand for more channels. ("Gosh, if only there were more radio channels availabe, life would be so much better.")

Have you seen the list of digital only radio channels through the likes of Sky and freeview let alone DAB radios? I think you would be surprised at the additional choice available.

This doesn't for one minute mean I agree we should switch off FM - it serves it's purpose with enough efficiency to justify holding on to it easily!

These days I listen to the radio online more than anywhere else, thanks to the likes of iTunes I can happily tune into radio stations from all over the world including a couple I enjoyed listening to in the states! :thumbup:
 
Rickwood Portpatrick

Rickwood Portpatrick

New Member
Good point about the gas Boxby! We don`t have mains gas down here in Portpatrick (although it doesn`t stop us getting calls from India or where-ever asking if we want to change suppliers)

How would you guys feel about paying more for your gas so we can get some pipes laid between Stranraer and here !!
 
Has anyone noticed how poor the sound quality is from digital tv. It is far quieter than analog and less distinct!

There's something amiss with your set up I'm afraid. I have full surround here and it's far superior to the old Nicam stereo which itself left 'normal' TV sound dead in the water... The spec is higher in terms of its S/N ratio, separation and dynamic range.. Set top boxes seem to vary widely in quality and matching them electrically to various TV sets is a hit and miss affair...


Now they are talking about swithing off FM radio at some point in the future. Again, digital radio is of poorer sound quality than FM and digital radios use more energy than analogue ones so where`s the benefit there.

Well this I AM dead against! Counting all the FM radios we have in Cars, the house, and built into other devices we'd need to replace 21 radios!!! Six miles from Edinburgh and our DAB set was switched back to FM last week as current Tropospheric conditions have reduced a marginal DAB signal to unreceivable. And you're quite right; DAB audio quality is far below that of good FM. Although it has to be said that most FM stations these days are so compressed and limited as to be pretty awful sounding...

Personally I couldn't care less how many extra radio channels there are on DAB. My system is no supermarket cheapie; But a half decent Onkyo receiver, good quality Gale BBC monitors.... And even through this system the radio stations are all of unacceptably poor audio quality...

And there are some superb Valve based FM sets from the 50's that are not only very usable but are lovely pieces of furniture. All that's to be made obsolete for what exactly????

IF DAB added so much as 10p to the price of a set I just wouldn't buy it! They can shove it! If FM goes off I'll just abandon the radio altogether....
 
stugster

stugster

Active Member
If FM goes off I'll just abandon the radio altogether....

You're not the only one mate. DAB might well be better quality, but because it's digital, you either get the station or you don't. There's no in between like with FM. At least when I'm trying to tune into Kingdom on the analogue, I can always get signal with a bit of hiss in the background. With DAB, the entire station just turns to mush.
 
You're not the only one mate. DAB might well be better quality, but because it's digital, you either get the station or you don't. There's no in between like with FM. At least when I'm trying to tune into Kingdom on the analogue, I can always get signal with a bit of hiss in the background. With DAB, the entire station just turns to mush.

DAB actually isn't better quality....

They sold digital TV as 'better' because it's almost impossible to receive a perfect analogue PAL picture off-air... And DTV will eventually facilitate HD and full digital suround so that's an improvement...

But 'perfect' FM radio IS quite achievable.... And for many years was considered a near-transcription source by audiophiles....

As far as I can see DAB offers the listener NO advantage whatsoever. And, as you suggest, will simply 'cut off' many listeners whether they buy a DAB radio or not....
 
Tim Barlow

Tim Barlow

New Member
Living in a wee village at the tail end of Scotland, I don`t see us getting "fast" broadband ever.

One of the key points of the initiative is to fund exactly this situation. The aim is to make 2Mb broadband available to all by funding networks that would not be commercially viable otherwise. Scotland stands to benefit from this disproportionately.

My biggest problem with this is right idea, wrong technology.

1. Why are we considering 2Mb acceptable when we can already get speeds of up to 50? The digital divide will remain.
2. Why fixed line broadband? Surely we should just go straight to mobile? (Follow the third world's example of not bothering with fixed phone lines. They have skipped a technology generation and gone straight to mobile networks)
 
Rickwood Portpatrick

Rickwood Portpatrick

New Member
Hi Tim

Ok , maybe the money would fund "fast" broadband to remote villages such as ours - but that remains to be seen. Is there not a chance that the connections to the more densely populated areas wouldbe beefed up leaving the saprse areas out in the cold.

However, as I don`t particularly have any use for fast broadband ( the slow one is fine by me) I still wouldn`t be happy about paying for it for other people whether they live in Glasgow or Drummore.

regards
 
R

Rob Sale

Guest
I have to be a little cynical and say in the short term it may do some good but i suspect it is an extra tax that could start to creap up and be used for other things other than broadband.

at a gues i recon that there are 15mil homes in the uk all of those that will have to pay 50p a month. times that 50p by 15 mill homes thats £7'500'000 a month going to the tresuary, you can guarentee that they will increase it for there own gains i.e their exspences.

We are the only country in the western world that pays a licence for Tv, radio and now or if you will a tax internet conection. instead of taxing us more they should look at how much money the BBC wastes every year and redistribute the money to broadband services the bbc does not need 8+ channels. Here we again about to get shafted, i'll bet in ten years time this tax is going to be £8 a month!!!

It should be left to public and industry to find the answer, were being led down the slippy slope of fashist/communist state in my honest opinion where you'll need a licence to fart or get taxed for the glory of it.

If your against you'll find a group on facebook called ANTI UK BROAD BAND TAX!!!.
 
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