Dave Thompson MSP

SKYE, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Dave Thompson has received an assurance from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) that they will ensure a full range of delivery mechanisms are included in a contract to provide broadband coverage throughout the Highlands and Islands.

Mr Thompson made the statement during a Holyrood debate on Scotland’s next generation broadband infrastructure plan. The MSP stated that conventional delivery of next generation broadband via fibre optic cabling would be unlikely to reach every home and business in all areas and therefore that he had pressed HIE to ensure that the requirement to provide this service through the inclusion of satellite, wifi or 4G mobile phone technology was included in any contract signed with BT, the only remaining bidder to provide the service.

“It is clear that, while broadband provision via fibre optic cables may offer the best solution for most of the country, the expense of providing universal coverage through some of the sparsely populated topography of areas such as the West Highlands through this method would be prohibitive,” Mr Thompson said later.

“That is why it is essential that the obligation to ensure all potential solutions are considered is included in any contract for provision from the outset. That way, I am sure, offers the greatest security of provision to all residents of the Highlands and Islands.

“This will be an extremely valuable contract but with that financial reward must come an inbuilt responsibility to ensure that all are able to benefit and that sparsely populated areas are not left behind as technology advances.

Note:

Full text of Dave Thompson’s speech at Holyrood (Fri, Feb 2):

Dave Thompson (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP): At the start of every week, I spend four hours travelling to Edinburgh from my constituency of Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch. With all due respect to the railway network, it takes just a split second for an e-mail to make the same journey. Much commerce and business is now conducted electronically, without the need for face-to-face contact, which greatly reduces costs. Good access to broadband allows Highland businesses and organisations to compete with those in the central belt and indeed across the world. Schools can enjoy the educational benefits of being online and people can keep up to date with friends and family on the other side of the globe.

However, many thousands of homes in Scotland do not have access to good, reliable and fast broadband, and many of them are in my constituency. This is a serious problem for Scotland’s economic growth and productivity because a great percentage of Scotland’s small and medium-sized enterprises are in the currently broadband-deficient Highlands.

This week, I was contacted by Iain Blois, who lives and works in my constituency. His work requires him to be able to download files, purchase goods and services online and fill in web-based applications. He lives 3 miles from Beauly, which is a small town close to Inverness, so the population density is not as low as it is in many other parts of the Highlands. Nevertheless, he wrote to say that the broadband speed is only 0.34 megabits per second. That means that a one-minute BBC news clip aborts with the message “Insufficient speed”.

The home of another constituent of mine, Henry Mennie, is categorised as “out of reach” of the exchange server. He lives on the Black Isle, less than 5 miles away from the exchange in Dingwall and just over the firth from Inverness. We therefore have problems even close to Inverness, but many of my constituents are much more remote than that. My constituency has a low population density, which means that it usually slides off the map of market-led digital provision, but digital inclusion is essential for us; indeed, it is even more essential for us than for those who live in urban Scotland.

The dangers of the digital divide are self-evident. Without equality of broadband provision across Scotland, businesses in rural areas are uncompetitive, school leavers migrate to the cities, and there is limited economic growth. In a 2009 study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, it was shown that a 10 per cent increase in broadband results in a 1 per cent increase in GDP. For the sake of my constituents and Scotland, we must ensure that the digital divide does not widen any further; indeed, we must endeavour to narrow it.

Fortunately, that has been recognised by the Scottish Government, which has set out to deliver world-class broadband to all by 2020. I welcome its ambition, and congratulate it on its publication of “Scotland’s Digital Future—Infrastructure Action Plan”, which acknowledges that there are particular challenges in delivering broadband infrastructure in rural areas but nevertheless pledges to address those issues and ensure that the broadband roll-out in Scotland matches the UK average. We have already heard that the Royal Society of Edinburgh has said that it has not come across such ambition before. We need ambition in this country and the ability to meet it, which will come fully with independence, of course.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise is planning to roll out superfast broadband across my constituency and the region, as the cabinet secretary has said. Work will begin in 2013, which is to be warmly welcomed. That work will cover the length and breadth of the region and 125,000 premises, of which 11,000 will be business premises. The roll-out must ensure universality in the provision of broadband, and I have pressed Highlands and Islands Enterprise to guarantee that. In areas of low population density, superfast broadband is very expensive, as fibre optic requires a sufficient concentration of subscribers per cabinet to make it economically viable. Therefore, alternative solutions must be considered for many consumers in my constituency.

A number of solutions have already been mentioned. One solution is wireless broadband, of course, which includes mobile broadband, 4G and satellite, and which can be deployed quickly and cheaply.

David Stewart: I think that the member is just coming to this point, but I stressed that fibre optic cannot possibly be the whole answer for the Highlands and Islands. A whole suite of alternatives must be used. In the past, satellite was used through an ISP. Does the member agree that satellite, wi-fi and 4G must be considered to ensure that the last 1 per cent is covered?

Dave Thompson: I thought that I had just said that. I mentioned 4G and satellite. I agree with the member that we must look at a range of solutions in addition to fibre optic.

I will say a wee bit more about that. To ensure full coverage, we must build the solution that I mentioned into the contract that HIE is currently negotiating with BT. I am pleased to say that HIE has given me assurances that that will be the case and that it is looking seriously at that matter as it moves towards finalising the contract with BT, which is the remaining sole bidder.

To conclude, I agree with the Government that broadband provision should be market led, but that that will not work in every area, and that everyone in this nation must have access to reliable and cost-effective broadband. That will lead to innovation, improved productivity and sustainable economic growth in Scotland. The Government is to be congratulated on taking such a positive and ambitious view on infrastructure provision for the whole country.