£600m Scottish broadband project 'may need more funds'

The government is praised in the report for hitting a target to give access to 95% of premises

The Scottish government's pledge to deliver superfast broadband across Scotland may need investment on top of the £600m committed, says a watchdog.

In a report, the auditor general also said there was a lack of clarity over how 100% coverage of 30 megabit per second (Mb/s) speeds would be achieved.

The report did praise the government for hitting a target to provide fibre broadband access to 95% of premises.

The government said its commitment was "unmatched anywhere in the UK".

• Development agency HIE hails fibre broadband rollout

Overall connection speeds have increased across Scotland, but about a quarter of rural areas cannot receive 10 Mbs, the auditors said.

They found that up to March this year, the government and development agency Highlands and Island Enterprise (HIE) had paid £259m to BT for broadband rollout.

'Reliable internet essential'

The report, prepared by Audit Scotland, recommends that lessons are learned from the failure of the Community Broadband Scotland plan to deliver anticipated benefits for rural community broadband.

Just 13 of the 63 initiatives it helped finance were successful with a lack of specialist skills, poor communication and complex tendering requirements causing lengthy delays and failed procurements.

Auditors said community groups had told them this had undermined their confidence in the government and HIE to support rural broadband.

Further recommendations include publishing clear timescales by next summer for achieving the 100% rollout.

HIE is leading the government-funded project rolling out fibre-based broadband connections

Fraser McKinlay, Audit Scotland director of performance audit and best value, said: "Fast, reliable internet access is now considered an essential part of everyday life.

"Good progress has been made to date but the toughest hurdle remains - to extend the benefits to everyone, particularly remote and rural communities.

"As well as being the toughest hurdle, it is not yet clear how the Scottish government is going to fulfil its pledge to deliver superfast broadband to everyone by the end of 2021."

'Fantastic achievement'

Paul Wheelhouse, Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands, said: "Our 100% commitment is unmatched anywhere else in the UK.

"The report recognises it won't be easy to deliver the commitment, but we have backed our commitment with a record £600 million in initial funding for procurement of the Reaching 100% programme and are currently in dialogue with three suppliers."

Sara Budge, Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme director, added: "It's a fantastic achievement and, coupled with our innovation, we are extending our rural reach and driving speed uplifts further.

"It's been a huge collective, but very satisfying, challenge.

"Over 900,000 homes and business across Scotland can now access fibre broadband thanks to the programme."