Investment in next-generation broadband networks needs to be increased if Britain is to remain competitive with leading economies, the government has been warned.

The Broadband Stakeholder Group says in its annual report that other countries are already deploying next-generation broadband, which provides ultra-high speed internet access.

E-commerce minister, Stephen Timms, told ePolitix.com: "The BSG are absolutely right to say that we are reaching the 2005 milestone. I think we are on track.

"Although I would not want to minimise the challenges that remain, I think it is plausible that by the end of next year every community will have access to broadband. A year or two ago that really would have looked far fetched.

"We now need to set our sights further ahead and look at what kind of online economy we are going to have by the end of the decade."

Forum Response: Institute of Directors

Jonathan Cummings, director of e-Business at the IoD, told ePolitix.com: "The recent growth in Broadband take-up by households and businesses isextremely encouraging. The UK was late to the game in terms of developing a world-class broadband infrastructure and still has a long way to go to getthere. It is vital that the government and the communications industry do not take their foot off the pedal.

"The existing broadband offerings are clearly working well in terms of familiarising business users with always-on internet access, thereforeincreasing the value of the internet as an information resource, communications channel and interactive medium.

"However so much potential remains untapped and it is essential that businesses and home users have the bandwidth options that they need to fully reap the benefits the internet offers."

Forum Response: Country Land and Business Association

A spokesman for the CLA told ePolitix.com: "The CLA, as the only national rural organisation that has campaigned vigorously for broadband for all rural areas, agrees with the BSG that fibre is the only effective answer to the inevitable increase in bandwidth that will occur when businesses take up broadband on a far larger scale than is presently the case. But it has to be stressed that laying fibre to every door is not an instant solution, but one that will take years.

"In the meantime, it remains essential that the current broadband technologies (for example, ADSL, SDSL, satellite and wireless) are exploited to their full and moreover are available at affordable prices.

"The government's public aggregation project could provide the answer that many rural businesses are after by making the purchase of the backhaul (capacity) into the exchange economically viable.

"We will continue to press government and the Regional Aggregation Bodies (RABs) to roll-out broadband into rural areas quickly and in a way that will allow rural businessmen and women to exploit the full potential of broadband."