Broadband connections in Moray: FOI release
- Published
- 20 January 2025
- Directorate
- Digital Directorate
- FOI reference
- FOI/202400442401
- Date received
- 25 November 2024
- Date responded
- 18 December 2024
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
1. How many properties in the Moray constituency remain to be connected to superfast broadband?
2. Out of those remaining properties in what year are 100% of properties in Moray expected to be connected to superfast broadband?
3. In the last five financial years, how much money has the Scottish Government invested in broadband connectivity in Moray?
4. Across the Highlands and Islands region, how many properties remain to be connected to superfast broadband?
5. In the last five years, how much money has the Scottish Government invested in broadband connectivity in the Highlands and Islands region?
Response
1. How many properties in the Moray constituency remain to be connected to superfast broadband?
The Scottish Government made a commitment to ensure that all homes and businesses could access a superfast broadband service. This has been achieved through the availability of traditional fixed networks and newer technologies, such as Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite.
Whether a resident or business owner chooses to take-up a broadband connection in order to “be connected” is a matter for each individual to consider and is therefore not data that the Scottish Government holds.
For the purposes of this response, however, we have interpreted your question to relate to delivery of the Reaching 100% (R100) contracts and how many premises remain to be delivered. The R100 contracts continue to deliver full fibre connections across Scotland, while the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) remains available to eligible premises.
Information relating to the rollout of the Scottish Government's R100 contracts, including latest coverage figures, is available on our website at Data insights | Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband. Data is categorised by contract area (Central, North and South), Local Authority and Scottish Parliamentary Constituency.
The R100 SBVS remains available for those premises not expected to benefit from R100 contract or commercial build, offering a voucher worth up to £5,000 with which to secure, as a minimum, a superfast broadband connection. As a demand-led scheme, it is not possible to provide the number of properties remaining to be connected through utilisation of vouchers.
2. Out of those remaining properties, in what year are 100% of properties in Moray expected to be connected to superfast broadband?
Our R100 programme, which comprises of three strands of activity – the R100 contracts, our R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) and continued expansion of commercial coverage, including emerging technologies such as Low Earth Orbit satellite connectivity – ensures that every home and business across Scotland has a means of accessing superfast broadband services.
As above, we have interpreted your question to relate to when we expect R100 contract delivery to conclude in Moray. Moray falls within the R100 North contract which is currently scheduled to conclude during 2028.
Our online checker at www.scotlandsuperfast.com remains the best way to track the most up-to-date connectivity status for individual premises, including the most recent plans and indicative timescales for R100 contract build, as well as eligibility for the R100 SBVS.
3. In the last five financial years, how much money has the Scottish Government invested in broadband connectivity in Moray?
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. This is because the Scottish Government does not hold information regarding the cost of delivering connectivity to individual Local Authorities through the R100 contracts. Costs for delivery of the R100 contracts are collected at contractual level and it is not possible to break that figure down for Moray only.
However, 359 properties have been connected through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme in Moray at a total cost of £1,245,901.
4. Across the Highlands and Islands region, how many properties remain to be connected to superfast broadband?
As above, we have interpreted your question to relate to the number of premises remaining to be delivered through the R100 contracts. There are 21,987 premises across the Highlands and Islands Scottish parliamentary region that remain to be built through the R100 North contract, with all expected to receive a full-fibre, gigabit-capable connection.
5. In the last five years, how much money has the Scottish Government invested in broadband connectivity in the Highlands and Islands region?
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. As noted in response to question three, as the costs that we hold are aggregated, it is not possible to provide the cost of delivering connectivity in the Highlands and Islands region only through the R100 contracts.
However, please see below a breakdown of connections and costs within the Highlands and Islands Local Authorities through R100 SBVS:
- 769 properties have been connected through R100 SBVS in Highland at a total cost of £2,368,201.
- 359 properties have been connected through R100 SBVS in Moray at a total cost of £1,245,901.
- 80 properties have been connected through R100 SBVS in Na h-Eileanan an Iar at a total cost of £273,959.
- 61 properties have been connected through R100 SBVS in Orkney at a total cost of £296,036.
- The total cost for all R100 SBVS connections in the Highland and Islands region is £4,184,097.
About FOI
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Contact
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Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
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