‘Still work to do’ on huge challenge of broadband rollout, says watchdog

There is “still work to do” by the Scottish Government to roll out high-speed broadband to the whole of the country, a watchdog has said.

The Scottish Government originally promised the R100 programme would be complete by 2021, but delays pushed the deadline back to 2027.

In an update on the programme, Audit Scotland said about 107,000 premises in Scotland were still to be connected as of the end of last year.

“Many of these are in the hardest to reach locations, with the majority in the north,” a report from Audit Scotland said.

“Connecting these remaining premises will be challenging and expensive.”

Auditor-general Stephen Boyle said: “The pandemic has shown that a fast and reliable broadband connection is an essential utility.

“But there is still work to do to connect or upgrade about 100,000 homes and businesses as part of the Scottish Government’s plans.

“Infrastructure work, particularly in the Highlands and Islands, will continue for a number of years.

“These are properties in the hardest to reach locations with difficult terrain, making it a huge challenge for Government and its partners.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “We welcome Audit Scotland’s recognition of significant improvements in broadband coverage and speed, and their acknowledgment that R100 contracts are building in some of the most difficult terrain in the UK.

“As recognised by Audit Scotland, the higher costs in delivering R100 are partly due to exceeding the original superfast commitment by delivering an increase in the number of gigabit-capable fibre to the premises connections.”

He added: “Excellent progress has been made in delivering complex, digital infrastructure projects, including the highly successful Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme.

“The Scottish Government has connected nearly a million premises to faster broadband through public sector investment worth an estimated £311 million.”

Scottish Tory rural affairs spokeswoman, Rachael Hamilton, said the Scottish Government had “miserably failed to match their rhetoric with delivery when it comes to broadband”.

She added: “They were nowhere near meeting their targets set for the end of last year and now a shamefully high number of our rural and remote communities will have to wait many more years to be connected.

“The SNP slashed the digital infrastructure budget in recent years, which was destined to cause further delays. They promised big but have severely under-delivered on this flagship programme.

“As we recover from the pandemic, it is absolutely crucial that individuals and businesses are connected as quickly as possible.