SCOTLAND is lagging behind rural areas in the digital age with sluggish broadband and poor mobile coverage hampering communication and business, according to a new report.
An estimated 150,000 Scottish premises cannot access good enough quality broadband, with speeds so slow that downloading an HD movie can take at least 90 minutes – longer if the connection is shared with other devices, said the communications regulator Ofcom.
Superfast broadband can typically download an HD movie in under two minutes.
Ofcom found that 1.1 million (four per cent) of UK properties are denied access to what is considered to be “decent” broadband speeds. These are measured as at least 10 Mbit/s and an upload speed of one Mbit/s.
It found that while 92 per cent of premises in England have superfast broadband, in Scotland the figure dips to 87 per cent.
Properties north of the Border also lag behind the UK average for download and upload speeds and for access to full fibre services.
Ofcom estimates six per cent of Scottish premises do not have “decent” broadband.
The UK average is four per cent.
Steve Unger, Ofcom’s chief technology officer, said: “Broadband coverage is improving, but our findings show there’s still urgent work required before people and businesses get the services they need.
“Everyone should have good access to the internet, wherever they live and work.”
The regulator’s report, Connected Nations 2017, revealed steps are being taken to improve broadband coverage, by promoting industry-wide investment in full-fibre networks, which offer speeds as high as one gigabit per second.
Scotland has just one per cent full-fibre services, compared with the UK’s three per cent.
The report also revealed that Scotland’s mobile phone coverage is also below par.
While callers can make outdoor mobile phone calls from 70 per cent of the geographic area of the UK, the figure for Scotland drops to just 40 per cent.
Data and 4G services are also dramatically below the UK average; outdoor access to 4G in Scotland reaches just 14 per cent, compared with a UK average of 43per cent.
While the report points to improvements, it said countryside premises and business were struggling to keep up with faster broadband and mobile phone coverage in more built-up areas.
Scotland’s rural areas suffer most from slow broadband speeds and frustrating connections.
The analysis comes amid growing concern that Scotland’s rural areas in particular are sliding off the digital radar, with business struggling to access workable broadband speeds.
Last month a hotel owner in Angus said she received an £80,000 estimate for a superfast broadband connection, while Tory MPs have queried the pace of Scotland’s broadband rollout progress. The SNP Government has pledged all premises north of the Border will have access to superfast broadband by 2021.
Ofcom said seven per cent (230,000) small and medium sized UK enterprises have slow internet connections. It is 11 per cent in Scotland.
Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “Poor broadband coverage and slow speeds continue to blight small businesses across the UK, particularly in rural areas where coverage is typically poorest.”
Digital Minister Matt Hancock said: “We will have taken superfast broadband to 95 per cent of the UK by the end of the year but there is more work to be done.”
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