Current status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 17 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that all rural areas across Scotland have reliable signal coverage for smart meters before the Radio Teleswitch Service ends on 30 June 2025.
The Scottish Government has no powers over the smart-meter network or the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS). Telecommunications is also a reserved issue.
However, the Scottish Government is addressing poor signal coverage through digital infrastructure programmes such as Reaching 100% and the Scottish 4G Infill (S4GI) programme. This is an example of Scottish Government using its own resources to ensure that Scotland’s homes and businesses are not left behind and can access the benefits of smart metering as soon as possible.
We have delivered 55 mobile masts in rural and island areas, all of which are available on an open access basis and could potentially be used to site smart meter radio infrastructure. The Shared Rural Network, a joint venture between the mobile industry and the UK Government, will also further increase geographic mobile coverage by building new infrastructure with the aim of reaching 91% of Scottish geography by 2027. It is therefore imperative that the UK Government and Ofgem update the regulations to allow the Data Communications Company (DCC) to use mobile technology to provide a signal to homes in Scotland and ensure that all meters can be appropriately upgraded.
It is unacceptable that there are currently no penalties for failure on the part of the DCC to deliver smart meter coverage across every part of the country. The Scottish Government continues to call on the UK Government to rectify this by including RTS related obligations in Ofgem licence conditions.