Question reference: S5W-00215
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 25 May 2016
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Current status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 9 June 2016
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it is carrying out with the UK Government to ensure that all (a) remote and (b) rural communities in Scotland have access to an adequate (i) mobile phone signal and (ii) broadband service.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to delivering superfast broadband to 100% premises in Scotland by 2021 and we will work with the UK Government as we develop our proposals. Our £410 million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband Programme is extending fibre broadband coverage to at least 95% of premises by the end of 2017 and the UK Government is contributing to that.
We are working with the UK Government on a number of aspects of the Digital Economy Bill, including discussing with them how the forthcoming universal service obligation for broadband can work effectively for Scotland. We have proposed that the UK Government set up a working group, involving the devolved administrations, to ensure shared strategic oversight as the scoping work develops.
Furthermore, we are working with the Home Office on the new mobile infrastructure that will be delivered as part of the GB-wide Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme, to explore potential wider coverage benefits for the general public. The total cost of this GB-wide infrastructure is £4.9 billion over the next 16 years, for which Scottish Ministers have committed to providing a funding contribution of approximately £475 million over the period.