After the communications minister Stephen Carter’s announcement to realise the goal of making 2Mb broadband connections for all households within three years in the UK a reality, communications service provider BT has declared that it can aid the government in achieving this target through economical use of its existing infrastructure.

Carter wishes to push Britain forward technologically and also boost the economy through the universal broadband scheme. While the critics of the plan feel that the targeted speed is too low, the achievement of even this much may be beyond the government’s reach.

However, despite suggestions to put in place mobile and satellite broadband networks (click for info on pay as you go mobile broadband) to plug in the gaps left by fixed-line broadband, BT feels that by modifying the wiring in people’s homes, as well as putting in place new lines, and utilising new ASDL2+ technology, it will be able to cover more network area.

There are varying estimates about the situation, but going by Ofcom’s figures, only about 85 percent of UK’s population will be covered by the proposed 2Mb plan. That leaves 1.5 million homes out of the fray.

BT approximates that it can reach 93 percent of the population with its new measures, leaving just 7 percent of UK homes in the need of satellite broadband. It is ironic that BT’s assertions of possessing cost-effective technical infrastructure to handle extended network coverage came in the wake of the government’s negotiations with mobile operators.

Kim Meek, a trusted aide of Lord Carter, has met with leading mobile network operators to cut deals where, in lieu of reaching areas beyond fixed-line broadband coverage, the providers would be given a part of the broadband spectrum. The apparent objection of BT against such negotiations is that it will be harmful for competition in the long run and offers only a temporary solution.