No Guarantees Over 'Superfast' Broadband

A multi-million pound programme to roll-out superfast broadband doesn't guarantee quick internet speeds.

Audit Scotland's found the £412millionscheme, delivered by BT, doesn't actually state how quick the internet will be.

Thousands of Fife properties have been promised acces of up to 40 megabytes per second as part of the programme.
Caroline Gardner, Auditor General for Scotland, said: "Being able to access superfast broadband is increasingly important for homes and businesses. This investment by the public sector is intended to mainly benefit rural areas, where such access is currently either low or non-existent.

"Given the potential benefits, it's important that the Scottish Government and HIE provide clear and regular updates on what coverage and speeds the broadband network will actually deliver, as the installation progresses."

BT has exceeded its contractual targets by 57,000 premises, although it is around 14,000 premises short of where it expected to be at this stage against its original plans. Based on the progress made to December 2014, Audit Scotland calculates that 85 percent of premises will have access to superfast broadband by March 2016.

The combined cost of building and maintaining the network is £412 million, including a contribution of £165 million from the Scottish public sector. The report says that while scrutiny arrangements are currently effective, arrangements are complex. There's a risk that project teams may not fulfil their contract management and monitoring roles in busier periods as workloads increase. Audit Scotland recommends that the Scottish Government and HIE keep staffing levels and workloads under review.