Rhoda Grant MSP

Speech in the Scottish Parliament debate

Rural Connectivity

30 June 2011

I welcome this debate, which is of crucial significance to many of my constituents who would dearly love to have access to broadband.

There are particular issues with regard to connectivity in rural areas.

Peter Peacock, in his speech to Parliament last year, welcomed the “Digital Britain” report’s recognition that private markets would not provide broadband to large parts of the UK.

He spent a long time fighting for recognition of the need for broadband in our rural areas, and I am happy to continue that work.

I am pleased that the issue appears to have won recognition among all the parties, and that members are aware of the significance of such infrastructure and the need for access.

In rural areas, connectivity will allow us to break down geographical barriers and save costs in service delivery.

It can boost our economy by encouraging businesses in, and it can improve the competitiveness of our indigenous businesses.

It can also allow access to jobs through teleworking, on which companies such as BT have led the charge, with many of their employees working from home.

Connectivity is important for the delivery of education.

The University of the Highlands and Islands has been a leader in online education, but we are only scratching the surface in that regard.

Due to numbers, rural schools do not have the same depth of curriculum choice as urban schools do.

If we co-ordinated timetables across a number of schools, that would allow pupils more choice because they could access classes in other schools through information technology.

They would have access to education without having to travel large distances.

Fiona McLeod talked about telehealth, which hardly needs an introduction.

Connectivity can deliver health benefits close to home in rural areas at a fraction of the cost, and that is just a flavour of the benefits that it can provide.

However, the Government’s targets for Scotland lack ambition.

Private markets will not provide broadband to rural Scotland without Government intervention, so the Government’s offer to facilitate collaboration is not enough, and nor is the target that it sets out in the report “A Digital Ambition for Scotland” of getting superfast broadband to all by 2020.

As Elaine Murray said in her opening remarks, the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s “Digital Scotland” report is far more ambitious and suggests that it would be possible to provide that access by 2015.

We must look at what other countries are doing.

Finland has made access to broadband a legal right—95 per cent of its population already have access—but it is legislating to ensure that the hard-to-reach areas are not left behind. It has vowed to have everyone connected to at least 100 megabits by 2015.


Richard Lochhead: Rhoda Grant seems to connect the Scottish Government’s digital strategy to the fact that other small countries in Europe are able to legislate on targets. Does she accept that we cannot, in our digital strategy for Scotland, commit to legislate, as unfortunately that power lies with Westminster and not yet with this Parliament?


Rhoda Grant: I am aware that the power lies with Westminster, but I would like the ambition of this Parliament and this Government to be for us to have what other countries have promised and developed.

France’s courts have declared that access is a human right, and the United Nations shares that view.

We need to be more ambitious. We need to ensure that, within our powers, which are many, we have a target that is ambitious for Scotland.

There are challenges, in that the technology moves on quickly.

The Government has invested in solutions—connected communities and Avanti are two—but they are not a panacea because the technology keeps moving on.

I am delighted that HIE has received funding from broadband delivery UK to pilot delivery of superfast broadband in rural areas.

That is now out to tender.

It is clear to me that, in order to bring connectivity to rural areas, we require a mix of technologies.

Communities have often taken matters into their own hands—examples include the Tegola project in Skye and the Rutland project in Leicestershire—but Government sometimes hampers those efforts.

The Tegola trial in Knoydart, which was capable of delivering speeds of 100 megabits, was hampered and halted by bureaucracy.

Highland Council refused to allow access to its pathfinder network until its security and contractual concerns could be satisfied.

That is bureaucracy standing in the way of progress.

Last week, I received an e-mail from a constituent saying that he was reconsidering a business move to the Western Isles due to the lack of broadband service.

The Tolsta community council in Lewis secured some LEADER funding back in December to provide two broadband relay sites to enable an extension of connected communities.

Fortunately, my constituent is now going ahead with the move after we advised him of that.

That example highlights the fact that communities have the will to find solutions. The LEADER funding is welcome, but we need more of it.

Improvements to the mobile networks are also essential.

Mobile telephone company 3 has four 3G masts in the Western Isles and it has told us that it is keen to expand services in the area.

It believes that there is a demand for that, and so do I.

However, such expansion depends wholly on its ability to acquire low-frequency spectrum in next year’s mobile spectrum auction.

I sincerely hope that Ofcom follows through on the proposal to stimulate competition in the mobile markets.

The recent consultation on opening up mobile spectrum is most welcome.

I welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to broadband, but it needs to do more. It needs to use all the resources that are available to it.

This is probably the most important infrastructure development that we will have in the current decade.

I will meet Scottish and Southern Energy in the next few days to discuss how spare capacity in the fibre optic cable that will run on the Beauly to Denny line can be used to improve connectivity. The SNP stated in its manifesto that it would provide £50 million from the Scottish futures fund.

That is a start, but more will be needed.

Private industry alone will not sort it out.

If sufficient public funding is in place, the industry will invest.

BT has given us a briefing on its investments, but we also need the Government to become involved.

It needs to lever in more investment than it proposes at present.

That should be a priority for the new borrowing powers, given that the investment can create savings to the public purse.

Failure to act will leave our rural communities at a great disadvantage both socially and economically.





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