More than half of Scottish businesses believe that the country's broadband quality is worse than in other parts of the UK and could negatively affect growth and productivity, according to an online poll of IT decision-makers.

Fifty-two of the 100 respondents to the survey said that Scotland's business community is being let down by poor internet connectivity which is regarded as being worse than in other parts of the country.

Commissioned by CityFibre, a provider of fibre-optic telecommunications infrastructure, the YouGov poll found that 92 per cent of IT decision-makers view the quality and speed of internet connectivity as being important to the success of their companies and 61 per cent said that improved internet connectivity would boost economic growth.

This finding ranked higher than the 59 per cent of respondents who said that improved national transport was important to drive economic and business growth. It was also higher than the 48 per cent who cited reduced taxation, the 37 per cent who cited improved international transport links and the 23 per cent who said that housing construction is important.

Commenting on the findings, which were released to coincide with the launch of a new high-speed fibre-optic network in Edinburgh next week, CityFibre's James McClafferty said: "Fast, reliable broadband connectivity is vital in modern business. The fact that 61 per cent of decision-makers we polled agree and yet over half of them rate their current service as substandard should be a real concern."