Reaching 100% (R100) Superfast broadband installation: FOI release

Information requested

You asked for delivery dates relating to:
1) How many subsea fibre cables have been laid as of the present date, when these cables were laid and to which Scottish islands?

2) How many Scottish households have received an interim voucher to contribute towards establishing a superfast broadband connection in 2021 and so far in 2022?

3) How many 4G masts have been activated in Scotland as of the present date and how many are expected to be activated by September 2022?

4) How many 5G hubs have opened in Scotland and the dates on which they were opened?

Response

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested.

1. How many subsea fibre cables have been laid as of the present date, when these cables were laid and to which Scottish islands?
As of 01 August 2022, 12 of the total of 16 planned subsea cables have been laid as part of the Reaching 100% (R100 programme). The laying of subsea cables started in May 2022 with work ongoing to lay the remaining cables.

The routes for the laid subsea cables are:

• Yell to Unst
• Shetland to Yell
• Shetland to Whalsay
• Fair Isle to Shetland
• Sanday to Fair Isle
• Sanday to Stronsay
• Eday to Westray
• Eday to Sanday
• Orkney to Shapinsay
• Hoy to Flotta
• Flotta to South Ronaldsay
• Eigg to Scottish Mainland

The routes for the remaining subsea cables due to be laid this year are:

• Colonsay to Mull
• Scottish Mainland to Lismore
• Iona to Mull
• Orkney to Rousay

Further information regarding these subsea fibre cables can be found on the R100 website: https://www.scotlandsuperfast.com/the-r100-programme/r100-subsea-deployment/.

There were also 19 subsea fibre cables deployed as part of the Digital Scotland Superfast Scotland (DSSB) programme which was completed in 2014.

For further information please see the following link detailing DSSB and R100 cables: https://cdn.prgloo.com/media/249e0ad29aaa4eb786f2d267c109c2b4.

2. How many Scottish households have received an interim voucher to contribute towards establishing a superfast broadband connection in 2021 and so far in 2022?

We are able to provide a total number of requested, issued and installed interim vouchers to date rather than a split per year.

As of 01 July 2022 the current status of interim voucher is broken down as follows:

• Requested – 41
• Issued – 204
• Installed – 1031

For further information the definitions of each status are:

• Requested – interim vouchers requested by suppliers for submitted Pre-Registered Products (PRPs).
• Issued – interim vouchers issued to beneficiaries for 'Approved to Build' PRPs.
• Installed – interim vouchers confirmed as installed by the supplier / beneficiary for ‘Approved to Build’ PRPs.

3. How many 4G masts have been activated in Scotland as of the present date and how many are expected to be activated by September 2022?
With regards to 4G masts we can only provide data pertaining to the Scottish Government’s Scottish 4G Infill Programme (S4GI) as other masts installed would be via commercial rollout. As this is commercial data it is not something we hold, however, it may interest you to know that the website Mastdata contains information on all current live commercial 4G masts in Scotland. More information can be found at https://www.mastdata.com/coverage.aspx?region=Scotland.

With regards to the S4GI programme, we can confirm that we currently have 29 live 4G masts installed as of 01 August 2022. It is currently expected that a further 2 masts, bringing the total to 31, will be installed and live by the end of September 2022.

4. How many 5G hubs have opened in Scotland and the dates on which they were opened?
Currently there are 5 Scotland 5G Connect Hubs opened and operating in Scotland.

Of the 5 hubs, those in Dundee, Dumfries and Forth Valley opened, initially virtually, on 23 June 2021.

The further 2 hubs, in Aberdeen and Kilmarnock, opened on 22 June 2022.

About FOI

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