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Highlands broadband concerns "becoming more prevalent"
Wednesday 7th October 2009, by Daniel King
The broadband speeds and network capabilities accessible in the Highlands and Islands are becoming a more commonly-noted matter of concern, a new report has stated.
Although basic telecoms connectivity is said to be good in the region, a report by Analysys Mason for the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) said it will be a bigger challenge to convince the private sector to provide better services - because doing so in urban areas is "inherently more commercially attractive".
Some 60 per cent of phone lines in the Highlands and Islands had a broadband connection by the end of last year, which is higher than the Scottish and UK averages. However, limited capacity may stem take-up even in areas where it is needed the most.
In addition, not all of the phone lines can deliver broadband speeds of two Mbit/s or greater - which is the speed specified in the recent Digital Britain report as a target for 2012. Analysys Mason estimated that about 28 per cent in the region fall into this group.
"The area has already had to think innovatively to tackle the issues surrounding connectivity -and our next step, given the additional costs in rural areas, is to provide strong business and social arguments as to why we should be a priority for next generation access," commented HIE director of regional competitiveness Alex Paterson.
According to the Digital Britain report, the UK can claim to have a satisfactory broadband infrastructure, although this is strained due to demand and can create economic disadvantages.
Categories: Broadband
