To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people in rural areas receive the same access to high speed broadband as their urban counterparts. (278698)

The Digital Britain final report was published on 16 June and contained more detailed information on Government's commitment to providing universal broadband access to virtually UK homes and businesses at a speed of 2Mbps by 2012. In addition to this, a 50p per month levy will be imposed on all fixed telephone lines to create a Next Generation Fund to ensure Next Generation Broadband reaches the final third of homes that the market will not otherwise deliver to.