BT: Mobile users should contribute to broadband tax

In what isn't a particularly surprising statement, given that they don't have a large mobile base, BT are calling for mobile phone users to contribute to the government's 50p per month tax to fund the rollout of Next Generation Networks (which is currently proposed to be levied on fixed line telephony users only).

Their argument is that the fund setup by the tax will not just be available to fixed line providers to rollout the new super fast services, but also available to mobile providers - and hence the telco believes that their customers should contribute, which also might help bring down the cost of the £6 per year levy.

Director of industry policy and regulation Emma Gilthorpe said:

"The government should consider the opportunity to widen the base for the tax and possibly reduce the amount that each individual household pays."

Quite how moving the cost from landline to mobile users in the same household will reduce what's paid though, I'm not exactly grasping clearly.