The BBC licence fee could be used to part-fund the roll-out of superfast broadband across the UK.
Details of the plan were outlined in the coalition deal struck between the Tories and the Lib Dems.
Ed Vaizey, who has been appointed as the new broadband minister, will oversee the roll-out.
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Digital divide
The new plans were published as the government announced that Mr Vaizey, a joint business and culture minister, would take responsibility for the digital economy.
"We are delighted. Ed knows what he is talking about and it is good to have a minister who knows about and cares about the issues," said Malcolm Corbett, chief executive of Inca (The Independent Networks Co-operative Association).
Mr Vaizey takes over from Labour's digital minister Stephen Timms, who is currently recovering from stab wounds inflicted by one of his constituents.
Some industry insiders were concerned about how well Mr Timms coped with his broadband brief given his other commitments at the Treasury.
Legislation about all things digital falls across a range of departments.
While the scrapped broadband tax formed part of the Finance Bill, the controversial Digital Economy Bill - which has passed into law before the end of Parliament - was drawn up by the Department for Business, Skills and Innovation
But many of the creative industries that add to the digital economy fall under the remit of the Culture department.
Labour appointed an extra minister to deal with the digital divide but this post was closed last year and it is unclear if anyone in the coalition government will have responsibility for this.
Source BBC News
