Earlier this year Lord Cater proposed a Universal Service for broadband in the United Kingdom. Those plans have now been backed by the UK government, which means everyone should have access to 2Mb/s broadband by the year 2012. Speaking at the House of Commons, the chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said, "I am allocating extra funding for digital investment, to help to extend the broadband network to almost every community."

The backing of 2Mb/s plan was contained in the Budget Report released yesterday, and according to the Treasury the cost would be met in part by underspend from the BBC's promotion of Digital TV switchover.

While Lord Carter's plan may now be backed by the UK government, it still is not clear how exactly the Universal Service will be delivered; either through fixed line, satellite or wireless broadband access. This additional level of detail will be available this summer when the government releases the final version of the Digital Britain report.