150,000 homes and firms losing out on ScotGov R100 broadband pledge

But new official data covering the nation's 32 local authorities seen by The Herald shows that as of January, coverage was as low as 72% in Orkney. In rural areas of the islands it slumps to as low as 59%.

Due to be completed by 2021 but now expected to take until 2028, the £600m flagship scheme has been plagued with problems.

But in January, First Minister Humza Yousaf claimed “every home and every business” had access to superfast broadband.

READ MORE: SNP urged to 'rethink' broadband policy after dismal voucher take-up

But according to communications regulator Ofcom, Scotland has 95% superfast broadband coverage, equating to 2.737m homes and businesses, with rural areas of Scotland on average seeing just 80% of properties with access.

While the island council areas of Shetland and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar are getting just 75% and 77% coverage respectively, mainland areas of West Dunbartonshire, Dundee City and Clackmannanshire are at 99%.

A full rundown of superfast broadband coverage for all 32 Scottish local authority areas

Meanwhile, according to the data from communications regulator Ofcom, Scotland is lagging behind the rest of the UK in the provision of gold standard fibre broadband that connects directly to the home or business using fibre optic cables rather than using older copper cables that are less reliable.

In January there was just 55% coverage in Scotland against 61% across the UK.

In rural areas the difference is more stark with 35% coverage in Scotland against 46% in the UK.

Scottish Conservative shadow rural affairs secretary Rachael Hamilton said: “The SNP’s failure to deliver superfast broadband across Scotland is a prime example of them overpromising and then underdelivering.

“Rural Scotland has been short-changed by repeated broken promises and won’t swallow Humza Yousaf’s shameless spin.

“Having access to superfast broadband is vital for our rural economy and attracting people to live in these communities.

“SNP ministers must stop dithering and ensure that this long-awaited scheme is finally delivered in full.”

The R100 project was launched in 2017 with a target to bring superfast broadband to every home and business in Scotland by 2021.

The then rural economy and connectivity secretary said that the 'superfast broadband for all' move was "fantastic news for Scotland".

He said the move was needed if Scotland was to deliver inclusive economic growth, help business innovate and grow, prepare children for workplaces of the future, create a skilled workforce for for the digital century and reform public services.

"We concluded that the economic damage which would be caused by consigning large parts of rural Scotland to the broadband slow-lane – and, by extension, the economic slow-lane – was unacceptable," said Mr Ewing who said that they were purposely targeting funds where they were needed most - in rural areas.

Video: What is the R100 programme?

The work was divided into three geographical lots - central, north and south - with initial plans for cable connections to around 114,000 premises.

But it was not until December 2019 that ministers signed deals with BT for the £83m Central Scotland and £133m South of Scotland elements.

Problems with the biggest of the three contract areas - the North lot - were even worse.

Delayed by a legal challenge launched by a disgruntled rival bidder, the contract was only signed with BT in December 2020, with the number of premises involved not finalised until August 2021.

With the timetable slipping, in 2019 the Government announced a back-up voucher scheme offering one-off grants of £5000 to help premises not getting R100 fixed links to get broadband via wireless and satellite. But take-up of the vouchers has been extremely low, with only around 3,500 issued, and connection costs reportedly exceeding the voucher in some areas.

In February, ministers were accused of a cynical “stitch-up” after telling researchers that the scheme had been a success.

The SNP-Green Government made the disputed claim in an official tender document for a new £100,000 evaluation of the delayed R100 rural broadband programme.

Opposition parties said connections are effectively impossible in parts of the country, with one Shetland community recently quoted a connection fee of £48,000 per home.

However ministers are insisting they met the commitment on time.

The Scottish Government announced last month announced it was commissioning an evaluation of the R100 programme “against investment objectives”.

It said: “It is essential that we are able to assess Value for Money of this programme in terms of understanding the social, economic, environmental and other benefits to households, businesses and communities of improvements in broadband connectivity and speed.”

The procurement was run by the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser within the Government, with an estimated budget of £100,000.

But an official tendering document is predicated on R100 having been delivered in line with the Government’s original timetable.

It said: “The Scottish Government met the commitment to ensure every home and business could access superfast broadband by the end of 2021.”

Opposition parties said this was a misleading starting position that undermined the entire exercise, as it put pressure on researchers to ignore the full picture.

According to the Scottish Government, as of November 30, 2023, 34,328 premises had been connected as a direct result of the R100 contracts.

They said that their contract delivery partner, Openreach, is also delivering a number of connections outwith the scope of the R100 contracts, with over 9,200 additional properties connected.

And a further 3,694 properties were connected through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) to date.

A total of 14,813 premises were due to be connected this year in some of the worst affected local authority areas for superfast broadband provision - Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Dumfries and Galloway, Highland, Moray, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, North Ayrshire, Orkney, Scottish Borders, Shetland and South Ayrshire.