NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Use 9th December 2009 MURDO’S PRESSURE BRINGS SUCCESS FOR TAYSIDE BROADBAND USERS There was success for Tayside broadband users after Mid-Scotland & Fife Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser held a Members Debate in the Scottish Parliament tonight (9 December) on his motion 'Rural Broadband for Scotland'. Pressure from the Scottish Conservatives paid off after the Scottish Government announced upgrades for 71 telephone exchanges in rural areas across Scotland, including upgrades to Strathardle, Amulree, Bridge of Balgie, Bridge of Gaur, Butterstone, Trochry, Tummelbridge, Fern and Menmuir in Tayside. In the Chamber, Murdo outlined problems faced by broadband users in Tayside by quoting the difficulties faced by individuals, charities and businesses who use broadband in rural areas such as Highland Perthshire and the Angus Glens. In the Chamber, Murdo Fraser said: “As set out in the motion, good quality broadband is essential in today’s Scotland. We use the internet to connect with family and friends, to do business and it is an important educational tool and online resource. “I fear that rural Scotland has been short changed and there is no better way to outline the frustrations and problems that my constituents have to deal with then to quote their own words. A resident in Highland Perthshire emailed me the following: We do our bit for tourism by letting a farmhouse for high quality self-catering holidays and are greatly hindered by the slowness of the broadband speeds. When they talk about 8Mb/s being slow they should try our 0.5mb/s. The quality of the lines to the exchange and the type of exchange itself needs to be upgraded. “One constituent near Kirriemuir in the Angus Glens wrote to me saying: There is an absolute ground swell of people - ordinary people, not business - who are demanding better quality broadband – and this won’t be stopped. Several local people drive regularly 50 miles or more to receive and send material from Dundee. How do you send fine architectural drawings on the facilities BT gives us here? The Session House in Kirkmichael in rural Perthshire serves as an important community centre as well as providing distance learning courses from Perth College, so access to broadband is essential. They had access through ISDN, but this was withdrawn and due to the exchange being full they could not access broadband. They wrote to the Chairman of BT, saying: We have been left high and dry. We have no internet connection and are unable to conduct our day-to-day activities. “For those more than 5km from an exchange, the Scottish Government provides a service through Avanti on a wireless basis. But there are real problems with the speed, reliability and cost of this. “It is not right that the majority of Scotland enjoys high levels of broadband availability and our cities are seeing even faster and faster services while rural parts of Scotland have been left completely behind and unable to obtain a service. “It is extremely frustrating for individuals and businesses in Angus, Perthshire and across Scotland that they cannot get broadband connectivity at all and it is holding businesses and rural communities back. Already there is a two-tier communication system in Scotland and every year it seems that we are seeing an even larger gulf in technology being offered to the cities compared to rural areas. We want to see vibrant rural communities, we want to see people able to work from home to meet our climate change obligations, but it is not going to happen without better broadband. “In September 2009 it was announced with great fanfare that Broadband Enabling Technology (BET), which allows homes that are currently too far away from their local exchange to receive a broadband service, has had a successful trial in the Highlands. It is planned that more trials will take place in Scotland. “While I welcome the commitment to upgrade some exchanges and further trials of BET, I am concerned that there is no long-term solution at present for our rural communities. It is clear from speaking to many people who signed up to Avanti that this has not solved the problem of enabling remote and rural areas to adequate broadband. “In summary, inadequate broadband for rural Scotland is a social injustice and it must end. As we enter the season of goodwill it is only right that the SNP Government give rural and remote Scotland some early Christmas cheer and a commitment to much improved broadband connectivity for households and businesses. However, the investment has to make a real change and improvement.” ENDS   back to top of page