Digital Britain programme: BT raises objection

LONDON, UK: The British government's plans to bring broadband within the reach of every home by 2012 have been put in jeopardy by BT.

According to The Guardian, the telecom operator has warned that it would take legal action if the government presses ahead in the new year with plans to liberalize the nation's mobile phone spectrum.

BT's move could derail a key part of the government's Digital Britain programme, the report said.

The Digital Britain plan is seen as the next step on the road to delivering on the strategy for the UK’s digital future. The final Digital Britain report released in June, revealed the government's pledge to introduce universal broadband access of at least 2Mb a second in time for the London Olympics.

The government had appointed the former regulator Kip Meek as an Independent Spectrum Broker to try to thrash out a deal with the networks. However, BT raised some reservations about the proposals.

In its "letter before action" sent to the business secretary, Lord Mandelson, BT raised serious objections to the plans and threatened a judicial review if they are implemented. The company believes the mobile phone companies are being given an unjustifiable government subsidy by having their 3G licences extended.

“BT has major reservations around the wireless spectrum proposals from the Independent Spectrum Broker,” the Guardian quoted a BT spokesman as saying.

“The proposal to extend current 3G licenses indefinitely represents a gift of several billion pounds from the UK taxpayer to the mobile operators and is a barrier to competition and innovation in the mobile market,” he said.