This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Plans to accelerate reach of Broadband
02/12/2002
Plans to accelerate the roll out of Broadband, stimulate
competition and improve access to customers for all service
providers, were outlined today.
Up to £24m has been allocated to support business
take-up and ensure that by the end of 2003, at least 70 per
cent of the population have access to ADSL Broadband.
Summarising the intended impact of the intervention
strategy, Enterprise Minister Iain Gray said:
"By the end of 2003, we aim to take Scotland from the
current ADSL coverage figure of around 40 per cent of the
population, beyond the current UK figure of 66 per cent, to
a level in excess of 70 per cent We want to do this through
a commercial partnership, which will, of course, be subject
to State Aid rules.
If we do not intervene, commercial projections indicate
that we will not achieve 70 per cent coverage until 2006,
which is not acceptable"
The Minister announced the initiative at the launch of
the Executive's progress report on "Connecting Scotland:
Our Broadband Future" - Making it Happen.
An extension of Broadband infrastructure and a
technology-neutral marketing campaign to raise awareness of
the benefits of existing services will be part of the
package.
Mr Gray said:
"When my predecessor, Wendy Alexander, launched the
Executive's broadband strategy last year, its aim was to
promote affordable access across Scotland, to facilitate
economic development and to prevent a digital divide
between urban and rural areas.
Since the launch of the strategy, and despite the
recession in the global telecoms market, there has been
progress on commercial coverage."
Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise
are driving forward initiatives to stimulate demand through
the establishment of Broadband demo centres throughout
Scotland, a programme of road shows and a newly launched
information website to advise and inform both business and
individuals about broadband in Scotland.
Trials of alternative delivery mechanisms for rural
areas are underway including a major Wireless project in
the Western Isles, Powerline carrier projects in Crieff and
Campbeltown, and Scottish Enterprise's ATLAS project. The
Enterprise Agencies also have a number of initiatives to
encourage the development of content and applications.
To stimulate demand for higher bandwidth connectivity,
particularly in the remoter parts of Scotland, 'Pathfinder'
projects are being developed. Negotiations between the
Executive and other public sector organisations in Scotland
are due to conclude with the awarding of contracts for
these projects next summer.
The Minister said:
"Despite everything that is already being done, we
always accepted that intervention might be necessary to
kick start a positive chain of events, that's why the
provision was in the original strategy. Having listened to
what businesses are telling us, we are acting to increase
access and stimulate demand.
Our actions, taken along side developments already
occurring in the market place will grow the supply side
further. What we are aiming to achieve is a virtuous
spiral, where increased supply results in higher take up
which in turn, delivers greater investment in
infrastructure.
The technology neutral marketing campaign is part of
this and we will work with the business sector and
commercial partners to ensure maximum take up of the
available services."
The Scottish Broadband Website was launched at the end
of November 2002. It can be accessed at;
Western Isles, Fixed Wireless Trial, is one of a number
of trials of alternative delivery mechanisms. The project
is currently at the procurement stage and has the potential
to extend broadband access to the public sector and
business right across the region.
Launched in June 2002, the Powerline Carrier Trials in
Crieff and Campbeltown are the first in Scotland to use
electricity power networks to deliver broadband
communications.
The first phase of project ATLAS is to set up a virtual
telecoms trading exchange (TTE) in Scotland supported by a
link (backhaul) to london. The target market for the TTE
will be large corporates and Internet Service Prodivers.
Phase II aims to link up a series of business parks around
the country and will spread the benefits of ATLAS more
widely.
Two Pathfinder projects, one in the Highlands and
Islands, the other in the South of Scotland, were set up in
the Autumn of 2001. The projects seek to exploit the
potential of the public sectors aggregated demand for
higher bandwidth connectivity to lever in major investment.
The first stage of the formal procurement process is the
publication of the Contract Notices inviting expressions of
interest. These were published in November 02.