Barely a month before the early parliamentary elections in Britain, the opposition Labor Party has promised free broadband internet for every household.
It is time that "in every house in this country" there is a free fiber broadband connection, said party leader Jeremy Corbyn. To implement the project, Labor wants to nationalize a part of the British Telekom BT.
"The Internet has become such a central part of our lives," said Corbyn. "What was once a luxury is now an essential necessity." Internet via fiber must therefore become a "public service", said the opposition leader. So far, less than ten percent of Britons have fiber optic connections right in front of their home.
Free and fast Internet for all would change the "land, reduce people's bills, boost our economies and improve people's quality of life," Corbyn said. The savings of one person's free service would, according to Labor, be an average of £ 30.30 a month (around € 35) per month.
Industry association speaks of "disaster"
The ruling Tories and business associations sharply criticized the idea. The Conservatives of Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the election pledge a "fantasy plan". Digital Minister Nicky Morgan warned that a "virtual nationalization" of BT's broadband services would cost billions of "hard-working taxpayers".
The industry association TechUK called the idea "fundamentally misguided". A partial nationalization of the telecoms would be a "catastrophe" for the industry, according to the lobby group, and would hit the rapidly growing digital economy in the UK.
Labor also wants to nationalize rail and postal services
According to Labor, broadband expansion would cost a one-off 20.3 billion pounds (23.7 billion euros). The annual cost would therefore amount to 230 million pounds.
Labor has already demanded the nationalization of numerous companies in the election campaign, including the railway and the post office. In addition, the party calls for a reduction in working hours to 32 hours. In return, she wants to raise taxes for the rich.
Polls, however, see the conservative Tories ahead. In a YouGov poll published Tuesday, Johnson's party got 42 percent approval, Labor only 28 percent.
