Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Digital divide
North ahead of South Lanarkshire neighbours
North and South Lanarkshire may be neighbours – but new data shows there is a digital gap between the areas.
The north is streets ahead of the south when it comes to ultrafast broadband, according to figures from comparison site thinkbroadband.
Some 75 per cent of properties in North Lanarkshire have access to an ultrafast connection, compared to just 63 per cent in South Lanarkshire.
Ultrafast broadband is defined as delivering download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second (Mbps), through either fibre-to-the-home or cable.
Broadband is considered superfast when it goes above 24 Mbps, through either a cable connection or fibre- tothe-cabinet.
Superfast broadband is much more common than ultrafast broadband, and is available to 98 per cent of North Lanarkshire, compared to 95 per cent in South Lanarkshire.
Meanwhile, 0.8 per cent of homes and businesses still have an internet connection of under 10 Mbps in North Lanarkshire, compared to 2.7 per cent in South Lanarkshire.
Overall, ultra fast broadband covers 46 per cent of homes and businesses in Scotland, up from 43 per cent this time last year.
However, four per cent of the country can still only access a connection below 10 Mbps, and around one per cent can only access a connection below two Mbps.
Across the UK, access to ultrafast broadband currently covers 55 per cent of buildings, up from 51 per cent in October 2017.
But, around three per cent of homes and businesses still only have access to a connection with speeds below 10 Mbps.
The report said: “The pattern of ultrafast broadband coverage rising faster than the superfast coverage levels continues and is driven by the amount of full fibre that is appearing in areas that already have superfast broadband options.
“The good news for those who have made promises about the UK reaching 97 per cent or 98 per cent superfast coverage levels is that we expect this to now happen between September 2019 and December 2020.”