Scotland 'embracing broadband at a fast rate'

Date: 24/7/2012

Scotland has been embracing broadband cables at a fast rate in recent times, new research has shown.

Published in Ofcom's Communications Market Report for Scotland 2012, the findings revealed take-up of the service north of the border has been quicker than in any other UK country in the past 12 months.

Indeed, the uptake was seven percentage points greater than that seen at the beginning of 2011.

According to the study, 68 per cent of homes in the nation are now using broadband - markedly more than the 61 per cent recorded a year earlier.

It was demonstrated that both fixed and mobile setups of the service increased in this time, escalating from 57 per cent to 64 per cent and from nine per cent to 12 per cent respectively.

And while take-up of broadband in Scotland was 13 percentage points beneath the UK average of 74 per cent last year, the following 12 months have seen it reduce this to eight percentage points.

It means the country has moved from standing alone as having the lowest broadband cables adoption in the UK to being placed alongside Wales and Northern Ireland.

Vicki Nash, director of Ofcom Scotland - the communications regulator - noted: "Last year's report found there was a risk of Scotland being left behind in terms of broadband take-up. This year the picture is much healthier with Scotland closing the gap on the other nations."

It was also demonstrated that consumers in the country are becoming increasingly satisfied with the broadband service they receive.

These levels rose by 12 percentage points to 85 per cent over the last year, meaning they have returned to that seen in 2009.

With regard to mobile coverage, it was shown that geographical challenges and low population density means fewer premises have access to the service from 3G operators than the UK average.

But while 27.5 per cent of the area in Scotland does not have any 2G mobile coverage from any operator, when looked at from a by premises perspective, 99.2 per cent of homes in the country are served by at least one 2G operator.

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Posted by Jason Page