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Connecting Scotland our broadband future: Making it Happen

UK LIAISON: making it count for Scotland

1. Our broadband strategy highlighted the importance of liaison on policy developments at a UK level. Although telecoms regulation is a reserved matter, Scottish Ministers have important devolved responsibilities for matters of economic development, and these frequently cut across telecoms activities. Hence on the telecoms regulatory front, we have been actively negotiating the terms of Scottish representation under the new OFCOM structure. OFCOM will bring together the remits of Oftel, the Radiocommunications Agency, the Radio Authority, the Independent Television Commission, and the Broadcasting Standards Commission. Effective representation within the new regulatory structure on telecoms issues will be important for Scotland, given the large rural and remote areas here which do not currently enjoy the benefits of direct competition even for basic telecommunication services. The number of competing telecoms companies, even in the densely populated cities, is smaller than in many areas of England. (This of course is part of the rationale for the ATLAS intervention.) It is arguable that Oftel, although set up to promote competition in the telecoms market, has not fully achieved this in Scotland. We need to ensure that the new converged regulatory structure will be able to take account of and respond to Scottish telecoms needs including access to broadband.

2. At a UK level, we have also maintained contact with the Office of the E-Envoy's Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) ⁶. As well as learning from and inputting to the formation of policy at a UK level, this liaison has helped to raise the profile of Scottish activity. For instance an earlier report from the BSG held up ATLAS as an exemplar of an innovative approach, and the latest report, just published, includes a section on the implementation of Connecting Scotland: our broadband future.

3. We have agreed to work in partnership with DTI's new UK Broadband Taskforce and will have our own Scottish member of the Taskforce to help us both to learn from best practice across the UK, and to raise the profile of Scottish activity.

4. Liaison with the other Devolved Administrations has been important in most of the above work. This Summer's announcement by the National Assembly of Wales of a 5-year plan to increase access to broadband in Wales reflects much of the activity already in hand in Scotland. Indeed, what is at the planning stage in Wales is already being implemented in Scotland. Examples include aggregated procurement, subsidised satellite ADSL, fibre to business parks, and awareness raising/demonstration (the latter will be covered in the next section).

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