It has been revealed that the Scottish government has spent in excess of £25 million over the last five years in a bid to increase broadband usage and broadband availability across the country. A report in August 2001 confirmed disappointing news with broadband available to just 43% of the population, highlighting a significant underinvestment in broadband and technology as a whole.
However, it appears that over the last few years the Scottish government has significantly increased investment in broadband with every home and every business in the country now able to access broadband speeds of at least 0.5 Mb per second. While this is well below the government’s 2 Mb target highlighted in the Digital Britain report, it is a significant step forward for Scottish consumers and Scottish businesses.
It is easy to forget that Scotland, while fairly large in size, has areas of very low population densities which have ultimately attracted little attention from the major broadband players in the UK. However, the introduction of both mobile broadband, and to a greater extent landline broadband, in some of the remotest areas of the country is making a significant difference. Local economies are benefiting, local businesses are growing and general incomes in some of the most remote areas of Scotland are on the increase.