LONGER READ: Connecting communities via digital evolution in Inverness and the Highlands
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IMPROVED internet and mobile connectivity are increasingly becoming a vital resource for businesses particularly in remoter areas.
Earlier this month the Scottish Government unveiled plans for a new initiative, which will sit alongside a number of existing projects, aimed at making the area better connected.
It would introduce free wi-fi at 10 sites along the popular North Coast 500 route providing tourists with increased internet connectivity all year round, helping to improve visitors’ experience when in the area as well as boosting the tourism economy.
And progress is being made with other projects such as the City-Region Deal Digital (Pan Highland) with the aim to extend digital coverage and make the Highlands the most digitally connected rural region in Europe.
It has been made possible thanks to government funding and is being led locally by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
In the last six years, the
£146 million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband project has connected more than 187,500 premises in more than 290 towns and villages across the Highlands and Islands.
It is being delivered on the ground by provider Openreach and Stuart Robertson, director of digital Highlands and Islands at HIE, said: “Fibre access in our region has increased from only four per cent of premises when the project began in 2013 to around 87 per cent today. We’ve reached further than initially planned and roll out is continuing partly as a result of strong take-up. There’s clearly further to go, but everywhere we reach extends the benefits of better connectivity to more communities.”
The project has seen hundreds of miles of new fibre optic cabling laid across the Highlands and Islands, including 20 subsea crossings to reach many isolated communities for the first time.
Most of the roll-out has been fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) that offers faster and more reliable broadband connections at speeds of up to 80 megabits per second (Mbps) but more recently there has been an increase of fibre to the premises (FTTP) which can offer speeds in excess of 330Mbps.
Increased speeds can benefit businesses, allowing staff to work from home, and fibre broadband enables multiple users to connect to the internet at high speeds and get better, faster access to online services.
The Scottish Government has committed to 100 per cent access to broadband, with a minimum download speed of 30Mbps, with premises currently below that speed being part of the Reaching 100 per cent (R100) programme, and it is expected a supplier to deliver the initiative will be chosen by the end of the year.
Coverage of the 4G mobile coverage has also been improving through commercial expansion by four mobile operators and the roll out of the emergency services network project.
However, like the fixed network, there is more to do and the Scottish Government has launched a Scottish 4G infill (S4GI) programme to build mast sites in areas where there is no coverage.
Highland is in a fortunate position of having additional funding for digital infrastructure through the City-Region Deal with £20 million made available to improve broadband and mobile connectivity.
To ensure that these funds are used to best effect and in the communities with the poorest services, the scope of the project or projects will be finalised when the expected outcomes of R100 and S4GI are known – which is expected early next year.
John Robertson, Highland Council’s programme manager for the City-Region Deal, said the authority and other partners had been successful in bidding for £4.3 million of department for digital, culture, media and sport funding from the local full fibre network (LFFN) which enabled full fibre infrastructure for Wick, Thurso, Fort William and Inverness.
“The rationale behind this bid was that these were key economic engines of the Highlands and centres for e-learning and e-health with the UHI colleges and hospitals,” he said.
“Supporting and developing business is very much at the centre of what we would like to do and letters of support were provided by the three Highland chambers of commerce and SCDI.
“From my perspective if we want the Highlands to be competitive we need to enable our businesses to have access to the best digital connections possible and the ultrafast digital connection speeds we have enabled for these settlements can only help.
“We need the Highlands to be, and be seen to be, fully connected to enable our businesses to grow. We will strive to do more and in Inverness alone our approach will lead to significant multimillion-pound investment.”
David Richardson, the Federation of Small Businesses development manager for the Highlands and Islands, said no area of the country or aspect of life was immune from the digital revolution and long gone were the days when it was regarded as a luxury.
He added: “Today, fast digital connectivity is one of life’s essentials, an immensely powerful tool to be used to positive effect, and sometimes a weapon to be feared.
“The internet makes the world a much smaller place. Among other things, Highland businesses are using it to find new markets all over the world, and new customers are using it to find them.
“It facilitates deal making, and it makes the administration and bureaucracy of business life much easier – or it should.”
In addition, the perceived barrier of remoteness, in particular with a demographic shift towards an older and declining Highland population, a good digital coverage helps break down one of these obstacles making the region a more attractive place to live and work for young local people as well as families, entrepreneurs and workers from elsewhere.
Mr Richardson said: “No surprise, then, that the presence of fast broadband makes some areas more attractive to move to than others, and that some businesses without it, such as hotels, find it hard to attract and retain young staff, who naturally want to keep in touch with the outside world when off-duty.
“If the Scottish Government’s R100 commitment – ensuring that all Scottish businesses and communities have access to superfast broadband by the end of 2021 – can’t be achieved, Highland businesses in not-got areas will want to know when they are getting it – its absence is a problem.
“Moreover, there must be an end to the closure of key facilities like banks because bosses like to believe that everyone can conduct transactions online. No, they can’t.”
However, having good digital connectivity and using it imaginatively and productively are two very different things, and Mr Richardson said: “We must ensure that businesses are skilled up to make full use of it.
“It is interesting that a range of business awards now judge applicants partly on their use of digital technology, no matter what category they’ve applied for.
“The bottom line is that at a time when gross profits are under threat thanks to rising costs, and no-one knows what is happening regarding our relationship with Europe and the rest of the world, we must ensure that the Highlands can compete on a level playing field, or better still, on a playing field tilted in our favour.
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Highlands could indeed become the most digitally connected rural region in Europe?”
Inverness is included in a list of locations set to benefit from a technology firm’s £2.5 billion investment plan to improve connectivity. CityFibre, a provider of wholesale full fibre infrastructure, named 14 towns and cities set to join its “Gigabit City Club”.
Digital has been a significant part of Highland Business Week, which has been organised by Inverness Chamber of Commerce and media partner SPP Media Group, and ended on Friday.
Stewart Nicol, the chamber’s chief executive, said: “Digital and mobile connectivity is increasingly important for Highlands and Islands based businesses. Enabling businesses to connect with customers across the globe is vital for businesses in every sector.
“The Gigabit City project will transform the opportunities and working practices of businesses based in the city of Inverness and I’m delighted that Inverness Chamber of Commerce has been actively involved in this project from the outset.”
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