Pressure grows to deliver top speeds in the Highlands
The Scottish Government has been lambasted by the Labour party over the latest set of delays to the delivery of nationwide superfast broadband which they fear means the country is “being left behind” the rest of the UK.
The SNP admitted there has been unexpected delays and no contract to deliver the flagship policy will be signed until the end of 2019 leaving “an impossibly short time” to meet the 2021 deadline.
The government was so confident in the Reaching 100 per cent programme (R100) that rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing said he would resign if it was not delivered on time but Highland MSP and Scottish Labour rural economy spokeswoman Rhoda Grant said: “These delays have been avoidable.
“The Scottish Government have had ample time to plan, but have sat on their hands and blamed the UK government – so with the addition of these delays, many people across the country are likely to be left behind for too long.
“I hope that the announcement from Ofcom that everyone will have a legal right to a decent connection from March 2020 is adding much needed extra pressure onto the government.
“In remote rural areas, digital connectivity is vital to a decent quality of life. Any delay to providing superfast broadband to 100 per cent of the population means leaving people behind.”
Connectivity minister Paul Wheelhouse sought to lay the blame Westminster saying bidders needed an extension because of “the decisions of UK ministers on the use of Gainshare resources.”
“Key to this is a highly competitive process that will deliver on our commitment to provide access to superfast broadband to every home and business in Scotland,” he said.
“We have therefore provided the bidders with the extension they sought, giving them more time to remodel their solutions, in line with changes to the intervention area that arose from the decisions of UK ministers on the use of Gainshare resources.
“Our actions will see the procurement timeline extended, with the appointment of a preferred bidder or bidders anticipated by the end of September 2019 and contracts signed by the end of the year.”
