Scottish minister says UK broadband USO is unfair to Scottish users
Scottish Rural Economy Secretary, Fergus Ewing, has spoken out against UK broadband funding plans that will “short change” Scotland.
The UK’s Universal Service Obligation (USO), which requires 100 per cent of UK properties to be served by broadband speeds of at least 10Mbps, is "grossly unfair” according to Ewing. All properties in Scotland are ‘ineligible’ to be covered by the USO, which means that Scotland will fail to benefit at all from the funding being made available elsewhere in the UK and especially in rural areas, claims Ewing.
Ewing is now writing to the UK Culture Secretary, Matt Hancock, to point out the fact that Scottish people are contributing to the funding for the project but will not see any of the benefits. He says that the costs for the faster connection will be passed onto consumers in general, including Scottish consumers, hence why they are contributing to the funding. He says is he seeking 'clarity' on the situation and whether Scottish broadband users can expect to benefit from the funding or not.
Ewing stated that the problem centres on the UK government taking an ‘industry-led model’ to providing broadband coverage. He argues: “This is indicative of the UK government’s approach to broadband rollout thus far, which has been to ignore the needs of Scotland, particularly our rural areas, and instead rely on an entirely industry-led model, which would leave large parts of rural Scotland completely disconnected.”
The Scottish government is embarking on its own funding programme, which it claims will ensure that minimum broadband speeds reach 100 per cent of Scottish homes. The project is costing some GBP600m and Ewing claims that collaborating with the UK government on the project will help it to “unlock significant savings to which Scottish consumers have the right.”
The UK’s government’s stance on the funding scheme is as follows: "The Universal Service Obligation will benefit citizens across the UK and help ensure people in remote places are connected."
