ABSTRACT
This chapter charts the progress of broadband adoption in England, with particular attention to the ‘mutating divide’.1 Parallels with the twentiethcentury adoption of electricity are drawn with particular respect to supplyside influences. Strong similarities can be seen in the two processes, including the emergence of oligopolistic suppliers, and governments torn between a wish to promote a beneficial innovation and a hope that private enterprise would ensure its equitable distribution. As governments edge closer and closer to regarding broadband internet as a public good, while stopping short of declaring a universal service obligation, the question remains whether rural users will ever achieve the kind of parity with city-dwellers that they enjoy with mains electricity.
