Broadband (Rural Areas)
The final item of business today is a members' business debate on motion S3M-5149, in the name of Murdo Fraser, on broadband for rural Scotland. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes the vital importance of good quality broadband to households and businesses in remote and rural parts of Scotland; is concerned that there is now a two-tier communication system in Scotland that is holding back business growth in rural and remote areas; notes that many rural areas of Scotland are not receiving an improved broadband service, while its cities are continually able to access a faster and better service; further notes that there are a number of telephone exchanges that are full or near to full capacity in Tayside, such as Strathardle, Fern and Menmuir; understands that there are growing concerns about the quality, speed and cost of the Scottish Government-supported Avanti service to remote and rural areas, and believes that more should be done to ensure that all parts of the country have access to good quality broadband at affordable rates.
I thank members who are staying behind for the debate and all those who signed my motion on broadband for rural Scotland. I welcome the establishment of the new cross-party group on digital participation and pay tribute to Willie Coffey for his work setting it up.
As I say in my motion, I believe that good-quality broadband is essential in today's Scotland. We use the internet to connect with family and friends and to do business. It is also an important educational tool and resource. A study conducted by the Communications Consumer Panel in June 2009 found that 73 per cent of respondents, which included 2,000 members of the public and 16 focus groups, believe that a high-speed web connection is as essential as basic utilities such as electricity and water. Quite simply, broadband is now seen as a necessity.
I will concentrate on two issues: first, the problems with exchanges in rural areas and the need to upgrade them; secondly, the problems with, and shortcomings of, the Scottish Government's Avanti Communications contract. I fear that rural Scotland is being short-changed. There is no better way to outline the frustrations and problems of my constituents than to quote their own words. A resident in highland Perthshire e-mailed me the following:
"We do our bit for tourism by letting a farmhouse for high quality self-catering holidays and are greatly hindered by the slowness of the broadband speeds. When they talk about 8mb/s being slow they should try our 0.5mb/s. The quality of the lines to the exchange and the type of exchange itself needs to be upgraded."
Another constituent near Kirriemuir in the Angus glens wrote:
"There is an absolute ground swell of people – ordinary people, not business – who are demanding better quality broadband – and this won't be stopped. Several local people here drive regularly 50 miles or more to receive and send material from Dundee. How do you send fine architectural drawings on the facilities BT gives us here?"
The Kirkmichael session house in rural Perthshire serves as an important community centre and provides distance-learning courses from Perth College, so access to broadband is essential. The session house had access through ISDN, but that was withdrawn and, because the local exchange was full, it could not access broadband. The session house wrote to the chairman of BT, saying:
"We have been left high and dry. We have no internet connection and are unable to conduct our day-to-day activities."
We have a persistent problem with other rural exchanges, including those at Fern and Menmuir in Angus, operating at capacity.
I was pleased to see the Scottish Government announce a few weeks ago a £3 million programme of exchange upgrades. I was equally pleased to see earlier today that the Scottish Government announced a detailed programme. When I asked for this members' business debate, I did not expect so early or so easy a victory. If only the Government caved in so easily to all my demands—I would request members' business debates all the time.
It is welcome that our pressure has paid off and that the Government is taking action, but before the Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism gets too complacent I point out that the information that the Government released today states that the timetable for two exchanges that I have just mentioned—Fern and Menmuir—has still to be announced. I would like the minister to tell us in his reply when we can expect details of the timetable, which is of great interest to my constituents.
Through Avanti, the Scottish Government provides those who are more than 5km away from an exchange with a wireless service. I believe—I am sure that this will be reflected in other members' speeches—that there are real problems with the speed, reliability and cost of the Avanti service. One resident in the Angus glens wrote to me with the following description:
"The Avanti contract will provide broadband to some currently without access; however the broadband access provided will be very slow and relatively expensive compared to that available in cities and urban areas. Furthermore it will not provide universal availability of access to broadband since Avanti has informed us that they are under no obligation to provide a service to all those registered on the scheme."
Another individual who registered for the Avanti scheme was told by Avanti that the scheme could do nothing for her because a hill to the south of her house blocked out the signal. That problem is duplicated across rural and remote parts of Scotland. Residents and businesses tell me that Avanti is not the answer and that the contract is failing them.
I do not believe that it is right that, while most of Scotland enjoys high levels of broadband availability and our cities benefit from ever faster services, rural parts of Scotland are left completely behind and, in many cases, are unable to obtain any service at all. Individuals and businesses in Angus, Perthshire and across Scotland are extremely frustrated that they cannot receive broadband connectivity at all. That is holding back businesses and rural communities. Already, we have a two-tier communication system in Scotland. Every year, there seems to be a greater gulf between the technology that is offered to the cities and that which is available to rural areas. We all want vibrant rural communities in which people can work from home to help meet our climate change targets, but that will not happen without better broadband access.
In September 2009, it was announced with great fanfare that broadband-enabling technology, which allows broadband to be provided to homes that are currently too far away from their local exchange to receive a broadband service, had been successfully trialled in the Highlands. More trials are planned to take place in other parts of Scotland. Although I welcome the commitment to upgrade some exchanges and to undertake further trials of BET, I remain concerned that there is still no long-term broadband solution for our rural communities. From speaking to many people who signed up to Avanti, it is clear that Avanti has not solved the problem of enabling people in remote and rural areas to access adequate broadband. That is why I think we need to have a fresh look at this important issue.
I believe that inadequate broadband for rural Scotland is a social injustice that must end. As we enter the season of good will, I hope that the Scottish National Party Government will give rural and remote Scotland an early Christmas present by making a commitment to much-improved broadband connectivity for households and businesses.
We now move to the open debate. Speeches should be of four minutes.
I congratulate Murdo Fraser on gaining this members' business debate on this auspicious day, on which it has been announced that many more people in our rural areas—those who are served by the 71 exchanges—will be able to receive a better service.
At the end of 2008 I carried out a survey of people in north-west Sutherland, north-east Caithness, the south mainland of Orkney and the Invergordon area. Four fifths said that they see the internet as a vital tool, of which broadband is seen to be a key part. Two thirds believe that their provision is inadequate. Four fifths believe that they are underserved. Nearly half use broadband facilities for both business and personal use. That snapshot of the north and west of Scotland shows how important it is that rural areas are able to take part in the economy of the whole country—but, as the figures show, they are disadvantaged. In the postcode area for north-west Sutherland, my questionnaire had a 30 per cent response rate. That shows how strongly people feel about the issue.
We must ask ourselves what the root problems are that need to be solved. Murdo Fraser has mentioned some of them; I shall highlight one other. One survey respondent said:
"I do not believe that I am any more entitled to superfast broadband than anybody else in the country. Just equally entitled."
That response raises an issue about the limited choice of providers in rural areas. Given that BT, on which many rely, is prepared to levy in the cities a charge that is commensurate with the speed of the broadband service, why should BT be allowed to charge people in rural areas for 8 megabits per second when many get only 0.5 megabits per second or 1 megabit per second? Should there not be a sliding charge for people in rural areas in recognition of that? Of course, that is hardly a solution, but the issue is a sore thumb that sticks out. People complain about the price that they pay for the service.
To some extent, the same point applies to the Avanti scheme, which was a well-meaning way of dealing with people who are further from exchanges. That issue might be partly dealt with by increasing the strength and quality of each exchange, but folk who are close to Perth, Dingwall, Inverness and other large centres face difficulties, as they are outwith the range of the system that is in place at present.
We have to think about what sort of services people need. We found in our survey people who deal with internet businesses around the world. Some work for Microsoft, for example. We unearthed many people who have a range of business needs. I appreciate the move forward that has been announced today, but I would like our Government to say to the regulators and BT that they have to sit up and listen and provide the next step. One woman said that she lives at the end of a very small copper wire—not very far from Invergordon.
If rural areas are to have the kind of service they deserve, there must be a rewiring of the whole area—not with copper, but with the modern kind of system that is required. The cost of such work has to be evaluated. I hope that today's debate will enable us to get a sense of what it will cost to lay the modern systems that will allow people in our rural areas finally to get the up-to-date broadband they deserve.
I apologise, Presiding Officer, if I have to leave the debate slightly early.
I welcome the opportunity to debate this issue on the back of Murdo Fraser's motion. I too have lodged a motion about broadband, but it has a slightly different focus. I hope that we can deal with it in a members' business debate in the not-too-distant future and that the minister will not use all his notes tonight, so that he has something fresh to say in a couple of weeks' time—if my motion is selected for debate.
I will not comment on what has been said about Tayside because it is not in my region, but I will pick up on the principles that Murdo Fraser talked about. His motion talks of a two-tier system. I suggest that there is at least a three-tier system: thee are those who have various acceptable levels of broadband, those who get the most basic level of about 512 kilobits per second and those who cannot get broadband. A significant number of people in the Highlands and Islands are in the last category.
As Murdo Fraser said, broadband has become an essential element of modern life: for personal use, for business use, for entertainment and for education. To do those things properly, people need high quality, high level and reliable connections. I have in my mailbag e-mails similar to those that Murdo Fraser and Rob Gibson told us about.
The situation in Tayside is challenging enough, but the Highlands and Islands is by far the most challenging area with regard to the provision of broadband—as it has been with regard to the provision of every previous generation of technology. We have the greatest geography—the highest mountains and deepest inlets into our sea lochs—which means that it will almost always be impossible to lay fibre optic cables or similar technologies in large parts of the region. As a consequence, and combined with the fact that the region has the smallest marketplace in the country which means that it offers the smallest return for any investment, the private markets will not provide broadband to the Highlands and Islands. They will not provide broadband to large parts of the Angus glens, Tayside, the Borders and so on for the same reasons. That is why Government intervention is a necessary part of how we deliver.
I welcome today's announcement. Although the progress is modest, it means that some people are getting connected to broadband for the first time. The announcement follows what previous Governments have had to do. During the years of the previous Conservative Government, when ISDN was first appearing on the scene, the old Highlands and Islands Development Board invested in that technology to ensure that the Highlands and Islands did not lose out. Similarly, during my time in government, our pathfinder project connected all the schools and libraries in the south and the north of Scotland and established the connected communities system in the Western Isles. We carried out exchange upgrades, which the present Government is continuing to do, and implemented the Avanti fill-in process, which does not apply to the Western Isles for particular reasons. The small package of LEADER proposals that the Government is now working on will help as well.
Like Murdo Fraser, I have received a number of complaints and concerns about the Avanti system. The technology has limitations—it is something to do with contention rates, which I do not fully understand. The managing director of Avanti met me in the Parliament to try to address some of the concerns. It was a constructive meeting; the relationship that I have had with Avanti since then has been positive and the company has genuinely tried to resolve the issues that have been raised, but I still get complaints about the issues that Murdo Fraser indicated as being continuing difficulties with that particular system. That will no doubt have to be addressed, and I am interested to hear what the minister has to say on it.
I believe that the Government has more to do on the issue. A coherent strategy and programme is necessary to address the particular pressure points in the system, and we need to examine the technologies that are becoming available so that we can address the issues. There are major challenges. Part of the answer will involve community self-help in areas where the most difficult challenges involve reaching that last mile—or last 100m—to receive the signal that is required for broadband. I am interested in what the minister has to say in his response tonight, although I hope that he will keep his powder dry to answer questions on the "Digital Britain" report in due course.
I congratulate my good friend Murdo Fraser on bringing to the chamber today's extremely important debate and on prompting the Government to send an e-mail this afternoon to tell us of 71 upgrades, the first of which will be finished by March 2010. I thought that that e-mail might pre-empt my speech but, having looked at the list, I see that it does not include any of the exchanges that I am going to complain about.
The minister will be aware, as the constituency MSP for Argyll and Bute and from the repeated correspondence that he has had with members such as me, that there are far too many rural communities in the Highlands and Islands that still receive an inferior service and poorer value for money in comparison with their urban equivalents.
One constituent in rural Argyll told me this week that she is paying a whopping £40.54 per month for broadband through Avanti, which she finds does not work half the time. When she rings Avanti to complain, the company tells her that, because it is raining either in London or in Argyll—which is quite often—the satellite is not working. Furthermore, she receives no refund for any lack of service, she is bound into a minimum one-year contract, and even when the system is working it is often so slow that sometimes the service times out before things download.
Watching BBC iPlayer, which people in the cities take for granted, can be a frustrating experience that leaves people tearing their hair out. That is surely unacceptable, and sadly—judging from my mailbag—such an occurrence is not an isolated case. I am led to believe that the cheapest Avanti option is £23.50 per month, which is much more expensive than many of the competitive city broadband packages and an amount that means that the package is out of reach for many people on low incomes. Indeed, the fact that the uptake of Avanti broadband by those who previously indicated an interest is only around 50 per cent suggests that cost is putting people off.
Another constituent in Argyll tells me that, despite the fact that he lives only 100m from the BT exchange, his broadband provider can only give him 2 megabits per second. His neighbour, who is with a different provider and thus uses a different line from the exchange, can get 8 megabits per second. Such inconsistency understandably annoys and dismays people; they just feel conned.
I will briefly mention the continuing and passionate campaign of my constituents in Northbay on the island of Barra to secure a better broadband service for their community than the one that is currently provided by the connected communities broadband network, which is owned and managed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise. My constituents on Barra continue to make the case to me that the con com wireless solution has just not worked for them; they want the local BT exchange to be upgraded. One of my constituents said to me, "What kind of con is con com?"
My constituents in the rural and island parts of my region want efforts redoubled to secure affordable, fast and reliable broadband for all. That must mean working with BT and urging it at every opportunity to renew and upgrade the BT telephone exchanges. I am glad that 71 exchanges are being upgraded, but there are still many more. Upgrading the exchanges will enable BT to cope with the demand that exists in communities throughout rural Scotland.
BT seems to be saving money by getting rid of rural telephone boxes, which it says there is no longer any need for. The upgrading of rural exchanges is a new, modern need that BT can fulfil, and I hope that the Government will encourage it to do so.
I congratulate Murdo Fraser on securing the debate, which is on a subject that is important to many members.
I will give two examples of the letters that members have received, to which Rob Gibson and Peter Peacock referred. The letters are symptomatic of the problem. The Shed at Nedd, which supplies original artworks on canvas by Sara Garnett, writes:
"Despite … assurances of broadband provision … of 21st October, our most recent order for broadband has been declined.
This situation is ridiculous, our business & trading has all but ceased, our financial situation is bleak".
We are talking about small businesses in very rural parts—Nedd is near Drumbeg and Lochinver and is in Assynt. If the business there went down, that would be sad.
My constituents Noreen and Anthony Watson of the Shieling in Tongue by Lairg write:
"My wife and I wish to inform you that the service has continued to deteriorate since our exchange of correspondence during July, in fact the internet came to a complete halt at 1615 this evening thus necessitating us to cease work! … Our frustration is such that we are giving serious thought to marketing our house next spring with the aim of moving to an area with speedy broadband."
It would be a disaster if people moved out of the Highlands. Every one of us—regardless of political party—recognises that we must encourage people not just to stay but to move into the area.
In fairness, I must give credit where it is due. The e-mail that arrived this afternoon was most welcome. I thank Ian Shanks—BT Scotland's head of Scottish affairs—who is known to all of us. Over the years, he has proved to be a most courteous servant of Governments of whatever colour, and he and his department have always done their level best to tackle difficult problems. I am sure that I speak for members of other parties when I say that. He is a truly excellent official—that needs to be on the record.
I thank the minister for his announcement—not thanking him would be churlish. It is a little unfortunate that ministers must sometimes listen to a litany of complaints when they are delivering. I hope that I say that in the most fair-minded way.
I also thank John Swinney, whom I met some months ago to discuss the comments and complaints that I was receiving. He listened courteously, and the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
I draw members' attention to the exchange in Scourie, which is on the list of exchanges in my area that will be upgraded. Scourie is close to Nedd, where my constituents have a problem. We have asked Ian Shanks today whether the Scourie improvement will mean that we can tackle the Drumbeg problem and we await the answer with interest. That might be the case—I dare say that the minister does not have an instant answer—but we shall see.
A fly in the ointment is the dates on the list. Scourie will be upgraded in April 2010, which is not very far away, but the exchange at Tongue—which is relevant to my constituents the Watsons—will be upgraded in August. However, one must not look a gift horse in the mouth. I hope that we can say to such businesses, "Look—broadband's coming and the Government are delivering. Stay with it, we're getting there."
My final comment arises from what Peter Peacock said. The investment by Highlands and Islands Enterprise was crucial. When he and I were members of Highland Council, we recognised that investment. However, on not such an optimistic note, I am concerned that the financial regime that Highlands and Islands Enterprise must impose these days might make it much harder for HIE to take in the future the leap of faith that it took in the past. That is a warning to us all.
I congratulate Murdo Fraser on securing the debate. It is interesting that we are hearing of the problems and difficulties that rural communities face the length and breadth of Scotland. I am about to talk about the south-west and my constituency in particular.
The motion talks about problems in relation to capacity and to Avanti. I could pull out from my mailbags many constituency problems that are exactly like those that members have described. I urge the minister to give particular attention to issues surrounding Avanti, as they have also arisen in my constituency.
These problems are affecting not only remote or even slightly remote rural areas but areas such as my own in which rural communities sit fairly close to larger towns where people can communicate using a decent broadband system, and it is understandable that people want to know why they cannot access the same service. The number of small businesses in my area that have been in touch with me to explain the difficulties that they face is rising, and I suspect that, as a result of this debate, I will get another mailbag on the matter. It has been announced that capacity on one of the exchanges will be increased next year, but other people in the surrounding area will want to know why they have not been included in the upgrade and when they will receive the same service.
Ironically, some of the businesses that have been in touch with me and will no doubt continue to press the case are involved with information technology and software development. We are also talking about media and communications people and a whole range of people who want to sell their craftwork and other goods that they have manufactured locally. Those people have chosen to live and work in rural areas and want to contribute to the local community.
With regard to the motion's reference to
"a two-tier communication system",
I have over the years drawn to the minister's attention the fact that many parts of my constituency cannot get mobile phone coverage, never mind a broadband connection. Members will be aware of my recent journey to Nepal on the other side of the world; I find it extremely ironic that I was able to get a text message in Bhulebhule at the beginning of the Annapurna circuit but I cannot get one at my surgeries in Barr in Ayrshire. One can begin to see why people feel that not enough attention is being paid to their needs.
I hope that we will be able to come up with a strategy for the areas that are losing out most, that we can see the costings and that we have a plan that can roll out over a number of years. I am not unrealistic about progress—I know that it will take time—but it is important that the affected communities feel that their agenda has been picked up and is being considered.
One of the other things that I learned in Nepal was the phrase "Bistari, bistari", which means "Slowly, slowly". I appreciate that some things have to be done "slowly, slowly", but I think that if we can assure those communities that they will get a broadband service at some point they will be prepared to work with us instead of simply criticising us.
On such occasions, it is customary to congratulate the MSP who has lodged the motion for securing the debate. In this instance, I am happy to congratulate Murdo Fraser for securing the debate, and I heartily applaud the laxative effect that it has had on the Government. It appears that Mr Fraser's motion has finally prompted movement from the minister with regard to details of the upgrade programme that was first announced in September.
Although I certainly welcome the news that the exchanges in Birsay, Hoy and Papay are to be upgraded, I am a little disappointed that work in Birsay and Hoy is unlikely to be completed for a number of months. That is excessive, particularly with regard to Birsay, so I hope that the minister will think about what more can be done, even at this stage, to bring forward the timeframe.
As other members have, I welcome the minister's announcement and acknowledge the fact that he has listened and responded to the representations that I, in conjunction with representatives from the communities in Orkney that are directly affected, have been making for a number of months now. Sadly, for the residents of Papay—as for too many others in Orkney—the quality of the service that will continue to be available is poor compared with the service in more urban areas.
In his motion, Murdo Fraser refers to
"a two-tier communication system in Scotland".
Like Peter Peacock, I feel that that is further evidence of Mr Fraser's now trademark penchant for understatement. In truth, I believe that we are witnessing an already gaping digital divide that is showing every sign of developing into a yawning chasm. Given the pace of technological change, the challenge for Government and regulators grows ever more difficult. In an ever more competitive and interconnected world, we cannot afford to adopt a lowest-common-denominator approach, but concerns are increasing at the scale of the disparity and the way in which rural communities are being left further and further behind.
With each new development in the technology, communities such as those in Orkney are expected to take their place at the back of the queue and wait patiently. Failure to restore a better sense of balance between the digital haves and the digital have-nots risks storing up serious socioeconomic problems for the future. In that regard, I entirely agree with Cathy Jamieson's remarks that many areas that have limited broadband services also suffer from patchy or completely absent mobile phone reception. More action is needed on mast-sharing or other initiatives to patch up the network.
Although the improvements that will result from the upgrades that were announced earlier today are welcome, we must recognise that they are likely to impact at the margins; superfast broadband it most definitely is not. More action is needed to tip the scales, so—as other members were—I was encouraged to hear Lord Carter recommend universal service provision of up to 2 megabits per second in his "Digital Britain" report, but I do not want to steal the thunder from Peter Peacock's upcoming debate. Assuming that Scottish ministers share that aspiration, it would be helpful to know what discussions have taken place, or are due to take place, between United Kingdom counterparts about how such a commitment might be delivered. Aspiration without a clear plan for delivery is simply delusion and will serve only to frustrate those who are left out in the cold.
A word of warning: suggestions that a levy can be charged on all existing broadband customers to pay for further investment will be met with resistance by many people in rural areas who are already stoically paying above the odds for a service that would be considered wholly unacceptable by their urban counterparts, as other members have already pointed out. Ministers must also accept that their decisions can exacerbate the problem. For example, insisting that rural priorities applications can be made solely online is unhelpful for those who have access to no or poor-quality broadband. In addition, many tourism businesses, such as those which were referred to by Murdo Fraser, are being hindered by the standard of broadband service that they are able to access, and by the centralisation of VisitScotland, which serves to compound their problems.
The debate has been useful. The issue is so important that it is perhaps unfortunate that the Government has not seen fit to make its own proposals and to lodge motion. Given the threat of the growing digital divide, there will be ample opportunity to return to the topic again and again in the months ahead. For the time being, however, I congratulate Murdo Fraser again, and look forward to seeing what quick wins he targets with his next member's business debate.
It has been an interesting debate and I congratulate Murdo Fraser for securing it and for giving me a chance to report on the progress that the Government and its partners have made. I also welcome the fact that he linked the issue to the digital participation focus of the Parliament and to e-commerce, which is going to be fundamental for Scotland, and especially for rural Scotland.
The intervention of the previous Administration and the current Government in basic broadband availability in Scotland now means that 99.6 per cent of premises are covered. That is comparable to UK broadband availability and is also among the best in the world. We are committed to the 512 kilobits per second target, and we have already made a significant impact with the broadband reach project; I will talk more about that in a moment.
The Exchange Activate upgrade programme will bring increased access to broadband to many rural areas in Scotland, and we also have the prospect of European economic recovery package funding for broadband projects, which is expected to bring even greater benefit to Scottish rural communities. On specific planned upgrades for Avanti, I also had a conversation with David Williamson, the chief executive, as did Peter Peacock. I am delighted to announce that the first 71 exchanges will be upgraded in the Exchange Activate programme, and that includes 44 in Highland and 10 in Tayside. Those upgrades will begin in March 2010.
We are also pleased to announce that BT is investigating further upgrades, and details will be announced in due course. We are working hard with BT to resolve issues and to be confident that the exchanges will be upgraded in due course. I have to mention that one of those exchanges will be Drumbeg, which I hope will handle the Scourie issue.
The upgrade programme follows significant discussion with BT, which is investing about £3 million in the programme. There is no Scottish Government funding. The upgrades will either be additional capacity or an upgrade to full ADSL, which offers higher speeds. The priorities in the project are to upgrade exchanges that are operating at full capacity or approaching it. Those are listed on the website.
I have a question before the minister moves on from the exchange upgrades, which I very much welcome. I mentioned that no date has been given for the work on the exchanges at Fern and Menmuir. If the minister cannot tell us when that will happen, can he tell us when he can tell us?
As we have managed the process successfully in order to get those exchanges on the list, Murdo Fraser can anticipate our telling him as soon as possible. The pressure will be maintained.
The Avanti project was completed successfully in May 2009 and almost 2,300 households and businesses throughout Scotland—mainly in rural areas, as members will know—are for the first time benefiting from a broadband service. Furthermore, we have agreed with Avanti to keep the project open for late registrations up to March 2010, while funding remains.
Although people might be pleased to get the Avanti service, will the minister reflect on my comment that, apparently, it does not work if it is raining in London or Argyll?
I once worked in IBM and I was much more adept at objection handling than the Avanti people seem to be. I do not accept such explanations as reasonable; they fit badly with the quality and commitment that I found when I met David Williams, the chief executive of Avanti, in my office last week. The good news is that he confirmed to me that the new satellite, which is called HYLAS—the highly adaptable satellite—will be launched in the second quarter of 2010 and will offer a significant upgrade in service for all Scottish customers.
I also derive confidence from the fact that Avanti has attracted a good proportion of the necessary capital for the upgrades from Scottish institutional investors. Those investors will be hearing the same messages as we are and will be seeing the potential for progress. One striking feature of my conversation with David Williams was the point that the system, which was the best that was available at the time, will improve over the piece. I am confident that the market will solve the problem.
I will not talk about rain problems. The minister talked about flexibility and made the welcome point that the Drumbeg problem might be taken care of by the work at Scourie. Can we take it that consideration will at least be given to communities between those two places and which might have problems, in order that they too can be swept up in the solution?
I would have to know the exact distances that are involved to give a confident view on that, but I believe that, with the Scourie and Drumbeg improvements coming on stream and Avanti in place and improving and evolving, Jamie Stone will have more happy constituents than unhappy ones.
We have had good meetings that have brought together all the players in the sector to consider how we can make progress together on broadband and to get buy-in from them. I was taken by Cathy Jamieson's comment about working with us, rather than complaining. In responding to her, I am keen to say that we want to face the complaints, because they are how we get improvement. Sometimes that is not comfortable, but the discomfort of facing the reality will drive us forward. We put on record our appreciation of the combined power of Parliament in raising the issues, which allows us to take them to the Office of Communications, the industry, the markets, the UK Government and the European Commission so that we can identify everything that can be done to drive forward. I am confident that we will have a considerable improvement.
On the "Digital Britain" publication, which was produced in June, I do not wish to erode all that work but, given that things are happening down in Westminster as we speak, perhaps that will not come entirely to fruition as is currently intended. However, as a declaration of intent, the idea of a universal service commitment has enormous appeal.
We will press the UK Government for a formal channel of communication with the steering group to ensure that Scottish interests are fully represented. We will seek to ensure that we have full engagement there. I have formally requested a meeting with Stephen Timms, the UK minister with responsibility for digital Britain, to discuss Scottish interests and the Scottish Government's role. I await his response. Mr Peacock will know exactly when that was, as he met me a few days ago on North Bridge, when I told him that I had just fired that letter in.
There is also the issue of the European economic recovery package. The intention is for Scotland's rural communities to benefit from that funding. So far, €1 million has been allocated and further resources may be available, depending on the level of take-up. The aim is that funding will be available to applicants for new or enhanced broadband infrastructure provision. Individuals and communities, which have been mentioned several times in the debate, will be invited to establish their service requirements and identify a provider prior to submitting funding applications. Decisions are on-going with LEADER and local action groups about how to make the funds accessible. We intend to keep pressing on that and every other front.
Murdo Fraser mentioned inability to get the signal to one premises. There are a few places like that, but they are infinitesimally few in number. Avanti was the best solution that we could get at the time. I hope that, with the new satellite provision, such problems may be overcome.
In the meantime, we will continue to listen welcome input from members. It is a matter of our pulling together to get the improvements that we all want.
Meeting closed at 17:46.