COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT MORAY and the Highlands and Islands are still experiencing frustration over the time it is taking for long promised Superfast Broadband to reach their areas.
That is according to Highlands and Islands MSP Rhoda Grant, who has again written to the Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, urging action to support homes and businesses that should be benefitting from the broadband rollout.
Mrs Grant is highlighting the frustrations of constituents who continue to be disappointed by the performance of Community Broadband Scotland, the Labour MSP saying: “I was the first to welcome the project to rollout superfast broadband across the Highlands and Islands, having campaigned for it for years.
“However, it has become increasingly clear that communities throughout the region are still experiencing extreme frustration in the time it is taking to reach some areas and indeed whether they will be reached at all.
“Unfortunately, I am now also hearing time and again about the disappointing performance of Community Broadband Scotland, the government agency which was set up to help communities develop their own last mile solutions in areas where the mainstream project won’t reach.”
Mrs Grant added that she did appreciate that several homes and businesses were not benefiting from the project – but others were not, and that, she insists, is simply not good enough.
She added: “This is a £146million project to rollout fibre optic broadband to communities within the Highlands and Islands yet I heard very recently from a business owner not far out of Inverness who is not going to benefit and is considering leaving the area as a result.
“We need to keep people in the area, not lose them. The solutions are out there but John Swinney and his government need to meet with the people in the area who can provide the solutions and roll these out.”