Over one in three Scots failing to get future legal minimum broadband speeds, Which? study

Which?’s own analysis of 20,780 users through its speed-checker across Scotland in 2018 shows that some 39% fell short of the 10 mb/s threshold.

It reveals that Orkney and Shetland has the lowest percentage of people receiving the 10mpbs - with just 31 per cent receiving the mimimum standard.

Moray, Argyll and Bute, Dumfries and Galloway and Ross, Skye and Lochaber and Banff and Buchan make up the six Scottish consituencies with the worst record in achieving what the UK government guage is theminimum speed required to fully participate in digital society, with less than half getting achieving 10mb/s.

This comes despite millions being ploughed into improving broadband speeds in Scotland.

The Scottish Government questioned the voracity of the analysis which was based on user speed tests "which is often inaccurate and does not represent the availability of superfast broadband".  

In September, last year the Scottish government's pledge to deliver superfast broadband - way above those minimum speeds - across Scotland would need investment on top of the £600m committed.

In a report, the auditor general also said there was a lack of clarity over how 100% coverage of 30mb/s speeds would be achieved by the end of 2021.

READ MORE: 'Broadband lottery' as study finds Scots get UK raw deal over internet speeds

And the Which? analysis further reveals that despite the Scottish Government pledge, just 13 constituencies achieved a broadband speed of over 20mb/s.

Stuart Mackinnon, external affairs manager for the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland, said the new figures were "disappointing".

“We strongly support both the UK Government and Scottish Government’s initiatives to improve our broadband. Not only do we need to see these schemes need to closely co-ordinated, but they must deliver quickly for firms and communities who are being left behind," he said.

“Survey work show that four fifths of Scottish businesses say that that digital technology is essential or important to the future growth or competitiveness of their business. But to realise these ambitions they need access to the right digital skills and good digital infrastructure.

The UK Government’s new "legally binding" Universal Service Obligation (USO), will from 2020 will give those in slow speed areas the legal right to demand broadband speed of at least 10mbp/s. The maximum wait time for such a connection to be installed, once requested and approved, is one year.

West Dunbartonshire was the constituency with the highest percentage of premises receiving the USO at 79% followed by Inverclyde and Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (76%) and Airdrie and Shotts (74%).

The report also reveals that four in 10 people (39%) in Scotland said they trust broadband services, significantly fewer than the UK average (45%).

The consumer champion’s Scottish Consumer Insight analysis for 2018,which unpicks the trends and financial outlook of the average Scottish consumer, also found that after years of bank branch and cashpoint closures, fewer than two in five Scots (39%) said they trusted day-to-day banking services compared to 45 per cent in the UK as a whole.

Caroline Normand, the director of advocacy with Which? said: “Scottish consumers are struggling with dwindling day-to-day banking services and poor broadband connections and our research suggests this could be having an impact on trust in these vital industries, and demonstrates the need for a dedicated consumer body backed by the Scottish Government.

“If Consumer Scotland is to be a real force for improving the lives of ordinary people, it must take on board the concerns highlighted in this report - and make tackling them a top priority.”

An Audit Scotland report found that up to March last year, the government and development agency Highlands and Island Enterprise (HIE) had paid £259m to BT for broadband rollout.

READ MORE: SNP ministers struggling to deliver hit 100% superfast broadband

It recommended that lessons are learned from the failure of the Community Broadband Scotland plan to deliver anticipated benefits for rural community broadband.

Just 13 of the 63 initiatives it helped finance were successful with a lack of specialist skills, poor communication and complex tendering requirements causing lengthy delays and failed procurements.

Auditors said community groups had told them this had undermined their confidence in the government and HIE to support rural broadband.

Further recommendations include publishing clear timescales by this summer for achieving the 100% rollout.

The Scottish Government said it was "disappointing" that the Which? research does not "accurately reflect" the results delivered by its Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme, both in terms of overall coverage and speeds available.  

"There are many factors that can influence download speed at any given time and we have concerns about the robustness of the data," a Scottish Government spokesman said.

“Over 925,000 additional premises in Scotland now have access to fibre broadband as a direct result of Scotland’s DSSB programme, and figures from thinkbroadband.com indicate that 93.5% of all premises in Scotland are now able to access superfast speeds of 30mb/s  or above.

“Ofcom’s most recent Connected Nations report shows that Scotland continues to outperform the UK as a whole, when it comes to new broadband deployment, and our £600 million Reaching 100% programme will ensure that Scotland is the only part of the UK delivering 100% superfast broadband access – a more ambitious target than that set by the UK Government under its Universal Service Obligation.”

*** The findings from the Consumer Insight Report also revealed that two-thirds (66%) of Scots were satisfied with their standard of living, and half (47%) were happy with their current household finances.

Just over a quarter (27%) believed their household finances would improve within the next year, while two in five (41%) felt they would stay the same, which was the same as the UK figures, where 26 per cent believed it would improve and 44 per cent felt it would stay the same.

One in five Scots (20%) had a positive outlook on the UK economy, but only one in seven (15%) believed it would improve in the next year and more than half (53%) anticipated the economy would get worse.

Everyday essentials remained the biggest worry for Scots, with seven in 10 (69%) concerned about energy - three percentage points more than the previous year and than for the rest of the UK (66%).

Seven in 10 (69%) were also concerned about fuel prices and public spending cuts, while two-thirds (65%) were worried about Brexit compared to six in 10 in the UK (60%).

More Scots expected their energy and fuel bills to rise, compared with consumers across the UK. Two in five (38%) anticipated the price of gas and electricity would increase compared to a third (33%) in the UK, while a third in Scotland (33%) and the UK (31%) also believed costs involved with running a car, such as fuel, will rise.

Which? research also found Scots’ trust in certain industries was rock bottom - less than one in 10 said they trusted car dealers (8%) or estate and letting agents (10%) and only a quarter (25%) had confidence in longer-term financial products.

Train companies and airline/holiday providers are also among the least trusted industries, enjoying the trust of 26 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. Trust in train travel dropped seven percentage points compared to last year.