Perthshire Conservatives have slammed the SNP Government for the “painfully slow” roll-out of their flagship R100 superfast broadband.
Councillor John Duff and Murdo Fraser MSP were commenting on the latest figures on Digital Connectivity in Scotland, which show that under 50% of the properties in the Perth and Kinross Council area and Perthshire North (MSP) constituency have been provided with a superfast broadband connection.
Commenting, Scottish Conservative Councillor John Duff, who represents the Highland Ward, said: “Despite the original Scottish Government promise of 100% of properties in Scotland having access to superfast broadband by 2021, four years later, less than half the properties in Perth and Kinross have been connected.
“So many things rely on having a decent broadband connection – businesses, studies, entertainment, communications, healthcare – to name a few. The lack of a superfast connection is disadvantaging over 50% of the population in this local authority area and it is impacting on families and our local economy, especially in the rural areas, many of which have been left behind.
“We really need to see a massive improvement in the speed of delivering R100 in Perth and Kinross.”
And Mr Fraser added: “These latest figures on the roll-out of the Scottish Government’s R100 superfast broadband scheme are very concerning but not unexpected. I still get emails from irate constituents, particularly in rural areas of Perthshire, who either have to suffer poor broadband or are waiting for superfast broadband to be installed.
“This issue is yet another broken promise by this SNP Government. Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon promised in the party’s manifesto back in 2016 that the flagship R100 broadband programme would deliver ‘100% superfast broadband connection to every home and business’ in Scotland by Spring 2021. That promise has not aged well at all.
“It is a damning indictment of the SNP Government that many residents in Perth and Kinross still do not have an adequate broadband service in this day and age. The SNP have let these residents down with this painfully slow roll-out of the R100 programme.”
