Call to open up ‘secret’ internet link to Highlands

BT disputed the claims saying that around two- thirds of homes and businesses in the Ross, Skye and Lochaber area are receiving superfast broadband.

However, the Highlands remains the worst served par t of Scotland for broadband which the Scottish Government has pledged to fix by 2021. An SSEN spokesman said: “In accordance with the Communications (Access to Infrastructure) Regulations 2016,

SSEN welcomes inquiries from telecommunications providers regarding the use of the fibre- optic capacity in its new and existing transmission infrastructure, including its section of the Beauly-Denny line.

“Any such access would be dependent on the availability of capacity, securing relevant consents and any operational requirements related to SSEN’s primary responsibility for the safe and reliable delivery of electricity to customers.”

In a letter to Holyrood’s connectivity committee, the rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing, said: “There are a number of factors that impact SSEN’s ability to commercialise this fibre for telecoms deployment, not least maintenance considerations and the potential for power outages to result in the loss of broadband services.

“In light of those factors, and due to the commercial nature of SSEN’s i n f r a s t r u c t u re, the Scottish Government was not in a position to compel SSEN and BT to reach a commercial arrangement linked to the deployment of the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband Exchange programme.”