First Minister Humza Yousaf has been criticised after claiming that “every home and every business” has access to superfast broadband.
It comes after Mr Yousaf was pressed over the Scottish Government’s flailing R100 programme at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday.
The First Minister told MSPs that “all homes and businesses across Scotland can currently access a superfast broadband service”.
But Ofcom data shows that superfast broadband availability across Scotland is 94.7%, not 100%, while in the Northern Isles, it is only 71.6%.
The Ofcom data shows that superfast broadband availability in many Orkney postcodes is 0%, and that every part of Orkney outside Kirkwall is in the lowest 10% of areas in the UK for superfast availability and download speeds.
The First Minister also claimed that the contentious R100 project “does remain on track”, despite being delayed until 2028.
The Scottish Government’s R100 project was launched in 2017 and aimed to bring fast internet connections to thousands of homes and businesses by the end of 2021.
Mr Yousaf added: “So far, over 36,100 premises have been connected and the remained will be phased between now and 2028.”
Orkney LibDems MSP Liam McArthur has invited the First Minister on a tour of Orkney to explain the Scottish Government’s broadband policy to locals.
Mr McArthur has now written to the First Minister to invite him to Orkney, so that he can explain to local households and businesses affected.
Mr McArthur said: “The SNP originally promised superfast broadband to 100% of homes and businesses by 2021. When that deadline came and went, ministers sought to blame the failure on everyone else, including Westminster.
“Now, it appears that the strategy of Humza Yousaf and his ministerial colleagues is simply to claim the target has been reached. This will come as news to the regulator, Ofcom, which regularly reports on how poorly served Orkney continues to be in terms of broadband speeds and coverage."
He added: “The First Minister’s claim will also have left many islanders scratching their heads as to what they’ve been doing wrong to be left with poor or indeed no broadband service at all.
“Clearly there has been a simple misunderstanding. Given his comments at FMQs, I have invited the First Minister on a tour of the islands where he can explain to local households and businesses how they can access the superfast broadband that apparently has now been delivered.”
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