Scottish Conservative politicians have slammed the “unnecessary” delay in the SNP rolling out its flagship R100 (Reaching 100%) broadband scheme.
Murdo Fraser MSP and Councillor John Duff have both expressed concern at the impact this is having on residents and businesses in Highland Perthshire.
The pair were reacting to the findings of a progress report on the R100 scheme by Audit Scotland. Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland, noted in the report that 107,000 homes and businesses that are still to be connected are situated in “the hardest to reach locations,” the task of completing the programme is going to prove “challenging and expensive.”
Commenting, Mr Fraser, who represents the Mid Scotland and Fife region, said: “It is a damning indictment of this ‘flagship’ scheme to find out that it has been delayed until at least 2027 – six years after it was originally due to be completed. Yet again, the people of Scotland have been failed by this SNP Government as they promised the scheme would reach every home and business across the country by 2021, but it has been beset by problems, including a protracted legal dispute.”
Mr Fraser continued: “Poor broadband, or lack of broadband, is still one of the main issues constituents contact me about and it is particularly bad in Highland Perthshire, where there is a large percentage of rural properties and businesses.
“These constituents deserve fast, reliable broadband in this day and age. Although many of them live and work in remote, rural areas of Highland Perthshire, that is no excuse to miss out on broadband, especially at a time when it is needed more than ever.”
And Councillor Duff, who represents the Highland ward, added: “The six-year delay in delivering R100 is yet another failure in a long list of SNP Government failures. My constituents in Highland Perthshire live in one of the worst affected areas of Scotland.
“These delays are having a detrimental impact on rural residents in particular, including many local businesses trying to make a living on their ‘superslow’ broadband service, families trying to cope with an inadequate service where adults are working from home and their children need online access to study, and some who have had to resort to very expensive alternative solutions to get the promised superfast internet access they need.
“Further lengthy delays in the SNP Government delivering R100 will come as very unwelcome news in my ward.”
