Digital Britain blueprints unveiled

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Lord Carter, the communications, technology and broadcasting minister, is expected to call for broadband internet to be made available to everyone in the country when he launches the interim Digital Britain paper.

The report is also likely to call for Channel 4 to be merged with another channel to create a viable public service broadcaster to compete with the BBC.

Digital Britain will lay out the Government's blueprint for the growth of the British digital economy, which is currently valued at more than £50 billion.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he expected the sector to expand rapidly in the coming years.

Currently around 40% of British households have broadband internet access, and the Government wants the rest of the country to get connected.

Lord Carter is expected to replace the universal service obligation, under which BT is required to provide everyone in the country with a phone line, with a new industry-wide obligation to provide broadband for everyone.

His final report will be published in June, but the paper is also likely to urge a merger between Channel 4 and either Five or BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, which sells BBC programmes around the globe.

Plans to address the problem of illegal file-sharing and music piracy on the internet are also likely to be included in Lord Carter's report.

The Government is keen to avoid legislating to force internet service providers to disconnect pirates, favouring instead an industry-led solution based on self-regulation.