Scotland leading broadband race
I write in response to the story in last Friday, Observer (July 28, 2017) and subsequent letter to the paper from Stirling’s Tory MP Stephen Kerr on the rollout of superfast broadband in Scotland.
Mr Kerr has had a somewhat rocky start to his term as Stirling’s MP but his suggestion in the story that ‘Scotland should follow England’s example’ when it comes to super fast broadband is ignorant at best.
I’m not sure who is briefing Mr Kerr on these matters but his comments fail to recognise that powers over telecommunications (which include broadband) are reserved to the Westminster parliament – where his party is in Government.
Despite this, the SNP Scottish Government has committed funding to the rollout of super fast broadband with the aim of 100 per cent coverage by 2021, which, as was pointed out by a Scottish Government spokesperson, is the most ambitious policy of its kind in the UK.
Perhaps England should follow Scotland’s example.
I have spoken with many community groups, residents, and business owners in my ward who have real concerns and frustrations about slow and outof-date broadband connections. Many voice their experiences with BT OpenReach and the market monopoly the company holds on broadband infrastructure. Simply put, the less commercially viable it is to bring super-fast broadband to a rural community, the more reluctant the company seems to be to put fibre cables in the ground.
That is why Digital Scotland is investigating new ways of bringing broadband to hard-to-reach homes. Whilst Scottish Government funding does support many community broadband projects, it does not always answer the question of connecting infrastructure to get to these communities.
There are real challenges here and solutions will not be met by illinformed and politically motivated press releases.
Evelyn Tweed, SNP councillor, Trossachs and Teith Ward