According to the pre-Budget report released this week by Alistair Darling, the 50p broadband tax levied against all UK customers with a landline connection will help to provide better broadband deals for everyone in the future.

There has been some controversy surrounding the tax, which will be applied to every individual line rather than just to homes and could cost some significantly more than others. However, most experts are in favour of the tax as it will ensure that fibre optic broadband is available to millions more UK residents over the coming years.

Money saving expert Julie Owens commented that although the telecoms companies were working to extend the reach of fibre optic home broadband, governmental backing was needed in order to make sure the new technology reached as many people as possible.

The so-called digital divide which separates certain rural areas of the UK from their urban-dwelling counterparts in terms of broadband speeds and availability should hopefully be closed as part of the new efforts.

The tax is also expected to extend the broadband market place, allowing for many more providers to compete for the custom of those seeking high-speed connections. This will lead in a fall in Tiscali broadband prices as providers who offer older ADSL connections are met with competition from low-cost, high-speed fibre optic services.

Not all providers are entirely enamoured by the planned broadband tax. TalkTalk recently expressed its concerns that the poorest families may find the tax too heavy, causing them to cancel their current broadband service.

There is no doubt that Tiscali broadband prices and indeed the cost of broadband in general, are set to fall lower than ever with help from the broadband tax. It is clearly a price that many are more than willing to pay.