Areas of Scotland 'missing' out on superfast broadband

Key areas of Scotland are set to miss out on receiving superfast broadband because they are not part of the UK Broadband Delivery Programme, according to The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The organisation has pointed to recent figures that will see five per cent of the UK, including areas of Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland, miss out on the government's pledge to roll out superfast broadband across most of the country by 2018.

These include key financial districts in Scotland, such as the county of Aberdeenshire, which is currently blacklisted from the UK Broadband Delivery programme, according to the RICS. This led to the RICS calling for the government to use the upcoming Queen's Speech to ensure that the Electronic Communications Code is “correctly updated and implemented”.

In addition, the RICS has called on the government to make sure that, coupled with the “undoubtedly” evident north/south divide, a growing rural and urban divide, both in obtaining a broadband connection and achieving superfast broadband speeds, needs to be addressed to prevent “putting rural businesses in jeopardy”.

Jeremy Blackburn, the head of policy at the RICS, said: “Broadband has now become the fourth utility and is as essential to running an effective business as electricity and water.

“We know that increased availability of faster broadband speeds will add about £17 billion to the UK’s annual Gross Value Added (GVA) by 2024.

“But unless things change, we will create a two-tier nation, in which vital areas of Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland are missing out.

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