Information pertaining to superfast broadband access in southern Scotland: FOI release

Information requested

Details of how far short of the target 100% FTTP connection open reach have fallen in servicing their Lot 3 contract in southern scotland.

Response

The Scottish Government has made a commitment to deliver 100% superfast broadband access across Scotland, where superfast is defined as 30 Megabits per second (Mbps). That 100% commitment will be delivered through three strands of activity – the Reaching 100% (R100) contracts (North, Central and South), the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) and continuing commercial coverage.

BT has never had a commitment to deliver 100% FTTP coverage through the R100 contracts. In the case of the South contract (Lot 3), the majority of eligible properties in the South of Scotland will be connected via FTTP, allowing those properties to access broadband speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per second (1Gbps) and going far beyond our original superfast commitment. The remaining eligible properties will be able to claim a main voucher – worth up to £5,000 – through the R100 SBVS in order to secure a superfast broadband connection.

With regards to the properties you reference that have not been included in R100 contract build plans, officials within the R100 team have informed me that the vast majority of these are already capable of accessing superfast broadband speeds and, therefore, were not identified as eligible for investment through the R100 programme.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.