Dearth of information is blamed
Efforts to extend broadband coverage across rural Stirlingshire are being hampered by a lack of information from the Scottish Government and BT, a Stirling councillor said this week.
Economy committee chairman Neil Benny was speaking after the first meeting on April 21 of Stirling Council’s broadband delivery group.
He said a general view expressed at the meeting was that there was a dearth of data from the Scottish Government’s Digital Scotland Roll Out project and from BT.
A key aim of the delivery group is to encourage the setting up of community broadband projects in areas that will not be covered by the Digital Scotland roll out schemes.
Scottish Government ministers, supported by funding from Stirling Council, have pledged to deliver superfast broadband to 94.5 per cent of premises in the council’s area.
Councillor Benny said coverage three years after the start of the project was 78 per cent and that figure was already six months out of date.
He added: “Communities that want to pursue a community broadband project feel stymied by the lack of information about which areas of Stirling will be covered by the broadband roll-out.
“European regulations forbid community broadband funding being given to areas which have benefited from the Digital Scotland roll-out.
“Neither BT nor Digital Scotland are forthcoming with information about which areas will be done and which areas will be missed.”
Stirling Council has set aside £1.5 million over the next five years to support community broadband schemes and improve connectivity in rural Stirling.
Now community representatives attending the delivery group meetings have asked Councillor Benny to write to the Scottish Government, when it is elected next week, to advise them of these concerns and express their frustration about the process.
Councillor Benny added: “The new administration has a responsibility to grab this project and get information flowing to communities so that they can plan for the future.
“We can guess at where we can put community broadband schemes but we can’t be sure. With so much money and such a vital piece of national infrastructure in play it is unacceptable that we are fumbling about in the dark as a result of governmental incompetence.”
However a Scottish Government spokesman said they were only halfway through the four- year programme and were still aiming to connect “at least” 94.5 per cent of premises with fibre broadband.
“Coverage would only have been 59 per cent without the programme’s investment,” he added. Information about the roll out is available at www. scotlandsuperfast.com
It is unacceptable that we are fumbling about in the dark