At the moment, the total fund for Scotland from the BDUK reaches
£100.8m. With this money, the country hopes to
rollout superfast broadband of up to 80Mbps (40Mbps being the
minimum target) to at least 85 per cent by 2015. The intention is
to extend the target to 100 per cent by 2020.
In addition, the Scottish Government is to add
£79.5m to the previously mentioned sum, the EC
(European Comission) is also to contribute up to
£25.5m. Meanwhile, the Urban Broadband Fund is likely to
include Scottish cities, which may potentially bring an additional
£150m to the country's broadband treasure
chest.
The Scottish Secretary, Michael Moore, was
quoted as saying that superfast broadband will open the door for
Scotland to "compete globally":
"It also allows local
communities to access public services more quickly and efficiently
online.
"Providing Scotland with
high-speed broadband is essential for businesses to grow and to
create the new jobs we need.
"That is why the UK government
believes broadband is essential not only for everyday life, but
also for the future economic success of Scotland and the
UK."
Scotland's broadband situation has been rather poor mainly
because of its complex geography and predominantly rural areas
where main ISPs found it not economically viable to deploy services
in.
