Digital Britain MP Stephen Timms has been criticised for failing to back up the government's plans to launch universal broadband.

The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, which recently published a report condemning plans to launch a 50p-a-month tax to fund the service, has claimed the minister was vague when asked to define the plans.

According to PC Advisor, Mr Timms said "virtually everybody" would be given access to 2Mb broadband speeds.

However he added: "It should look and feel like a 2Mb commitment as someone in areas served by those markets would understand it. "There is a degree of variability about that, but the service that is provided will be capable of delivering 2Mb."

The President of industry body the Fibre-to-the-Home Council, Karel Helsen, recently told the Financial Times that the launch of super-fast broadband should not include "short-term fixes".

He stated that the industry should not consider measures that may be "obsolete in a few years".