Broadband challenges remain in rural Scotland

Despite hitting initial coverage rollout goals, fibre rollout in rural Scotland will be challenging, according to a new report by Audit Scotland.

The Digital Scotland project has completed its initial coverage rollout goal, but hitting the ultimate target of 95 per cent of homes and businesses in the country will be much more difficult, the group has warned.

To help achieve targets, BT was appointed to extend Scotland’s existing fibre broadband network in 2013 at a cost of £412 million. To date, 26 of Scotland's 32 council regions have hit their targets for fibre coverage, with 2.2 million out of 2.6 million premises now having access to superfast internet connections - though people still need to switch to a fibre optic package like BT Infinity to use it.

Audit Scotland believes that, as long as Bt continues to meet its contractual targets, the government can expect to meet its 95 per cent target, but must look to work on less easily reached areas. The 26 out of 32 councils excludes many of the most remote districts.

Caroline Gardner, auditor general for Scotland, said: "Fast, reliable internet access is increasingly essential for everyday life, so it's encouraging to see good progress being made in rolling out fibre broadband.

"However, there is a lot still to be done by the Scottish government if it is to achieve its vision of a world class digital infrastructure, particularly in improving download speeds in rural areas. It's important that it continues to monitor the cost and progress of broadband roll-out so that these communities aren't excluded."