Full-fibre broadband ‘would add 76,000 jobs in game-changer for the economy’
Wiring up Scotland with fullfibre broadband could be a “game-changer” for the economy, adding tens of thousands of jobs, new research suggests.
A report conducted by the Centre for economics and business R es earch(CE BR) think tank shows that a comprehensive full-fibre network in Scotland could enable 76,000 people to enter the workforce.
The study, which was commissioned by Openreach, also reveals that a nationwide rollout would allow 24,000 people to expand the hours they are able to work if they wanted. And helping carers, parents and over-65s to access employment could contribute almost £2 billion in gross value added to the Scottish economy.
Openreach, the digital network business spun out of BT, is investing hundreds of millions on a high-speed fibre rollout to 90 Scottish towns and cities, including 60 locations in the hard-to-reach “final third” of the country.
The firm noted that more than 600,000 Scottish homes and business can already access full-fibre and other ultrafast technology through the range of service providers that use its network.
Katie millig an, the new chairman of Open reach Scotland, said: “This report illustrates just how game-changing the roll out of full fibre broadband across Scotland’s rural and remote communities could be.
“The pandemic has reinforced public recognition of the importance of high-quality broadband and we’re clear that fibre has a significant part to play in Scotland’s recovery.
“The CEBR findings show accelerating the build would pay huge dividends to Scotland’s economy as a whole and be instrumental in bringing people back into the workforce who haven’t previously had the ability to navigate other commitments or find opportunities in their local area.”
She added: “We look forward to working closely with the next Scottish government to remove red tape and deliver access to full fibre to thousands more people – through our commercial programmes and in partnership - and supporting Scotland’s economic recovery.”
At auk level, the report found that the nationwide rollout of full-fibre broadband could bring up to a million people back into the workforce, save 700,000 tonnes of CO2 emitted from car commuting trips and support 500,000 people to move from urban to more rural areas. Last month, BT said it planned to “build like fury” and spend billions of pounds rolling out full-fibre broadband to 20 million homes in the UK no later than the end of the decade.
A long-awaited decision by industry regulator Ofcom will allow the firm to secure the returns on investment bosses had been hoping for and provide clarity over pricing for the next ten years, the telecoms giant added.
The Openreach wholesale division will see no regulation or price caps on its new fibre services but will be able to increase prices on its older copper networks in line with inflation for the next ten years.
Theincreaseincostsontheoldernetworkswillencouragecustomerstoswitchtothenewfullfibreservicesandtheextracash will go towards the rollout and get investors the returns they were expecting. Major industry players broadly welcomed the Ofcom decision.