Chamber and committees

All homes and businesses in Scotland should now be able to access a minimum of a superfast broadband connection, thanks to the three strands of activity that make up the Reaching 100% (R100) programme - the R100 contracts, our Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme and ongoing commercial coverage. According to Ofcom figures, gigabit coverage in Scotland stands at 78% - up from just 59% in 2022. Ofcom figures also show North and South Lanarkshire as amongst the best served areas in Scotland for access to gigabit capable broadband – with 92% and 87% gigabit coverage respectively.

Digital infrastructure is essential for building a fairer, greener, and stronger economy, which is why over the last decade the Scottish Government has delivered over one million faster, more reliable broadband connections across the country - backed by over £1 billion of publicly driven investment. This is despite telecoms being wholly reserved to Westminster.

There is, however, more to be done. This is why we are playing a crucial role in the delivery of Project Gigabit in Scotland, having awarded new local and regional contracts earlier this year with further regional contracts in procurement, as well as managing delivery of the nationwide contract which was awarded by the UK Government to Openreach last year.

There will, however, remain premises which are beyond the reach of Project Gigabit procurements and are considered very hard to reach by the UK Government. Despite promises that an approach to connecting such premises would be forthcoming in 2022 and then again in 2023, we continue to await a clear proposal. We stand ready to work with the UK Government to develop a solution to connect those premises, ensuring that no one is left behind.