Question reference: S6W-03344
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 28 September 2021
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Current status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 11 October 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the (a) availability and (b) reliability of broadband in rural communities.
Answer
The £463 million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme delivered over 951,500 fibre connections across Scotland with over 841,600 of those capable of delivering superfast speeds of 30 Megabits per second (Mbps), the vast majority of which were in rural areas. The Reaching 100% (R100) programme will build upon this by delivering universal access to superfast broadband, regardless of remoteness or rurality. However, the contracts we have signed with BT for all three lots (North, Central and South) – alongside greater than anticipated commercial build – will also go significantly beyond our superfast commitment by delivering a substantial amount of full-fibre connections, meaning many premises will be capable of accessing download speeds of up to 1 Gigabit (1,000 Megabits) per second.