Ofcom, the communications regulator, is considering a proposal that BT should make broadband available to every home in Britain.

Revealing the move yesterday, Ed Richards, the communications regulator’s new chief executive, said that once 75 per cent of all UK homes had taken up broadband, it ought to be considered a necessity that had to be made available to all.

Speaking at a conference organised by Ofcom, Mr Richards said: “In such a world, a case for a broadband universal service obligation might be made,” but he added that there were “questions about the level of obligation and, crucially, how it would be funded”.

BT operates under a universal service obligation, which means that it must provide a phone line to anybody who asks for it, even if providing the connection would be uneconomic. The obligation is estimated to cost the company between £57 million and £74 million a year.

At present the obligation covers only phones. A decision to extend it to cover broadband would represent a fundamental shift in policy, although only a relatively small number of homes in rural areas — estimated at about 100,000 — would directly benefit. However, the proposal sends out a signal that the internet is now fundamental to everyday life.

Business reacted cautiously to the idea. Charles Dunstone, the head of Carphone Warehouse, said that a new universal obligation was unecessary because “we should get to a situation where hardly anybody can’t get broadband” by taking advantage of mobile technology to plug the gaps.

BT itself was also sceptical. A spokesman said that the company was “unconvinced that a broadband universal service obligation is necessary” and added that the issue would have to be resolved not only by demanding that BT deliver the service, but also by mobile operators being asked to contribute.

Research produced by Ofcom this week indicated that 99.6 per cent of homes can, in theory, receive broadband — a higher percentage than in France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — although only 39 per cent are actually connected.

Mr Richards’s remarks came in a keynote address at an Ofcom internal conference aimed principally at fellow European regulators. He also spelt out Britain’s opposition to European Commission attempts to create a single telecoms regulator, saying that “we are not yet persuaded by the idea” because effective rule-making required “knowledge of national market circumstances to fine-tune the policy”.

Times Recommends

• Lies and cover-up at MG Rover exposed by report
• High oil prices push manufacturing costs up
• Primark founder steps down as chief executive