Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Superfast broadband voucher scheme extended by three months – how homeowners in north and north-east can benefit

The Scottish government is extending their R100 interim voucher scheme.

Homeowners in the north and north-east are to benefit from additional financial support as they endure crippling broadband speeds.

The Scottish Government has announced today they are to extending their Superfast broadband voucher scheme by three months, to help people gain greater access to the “digital world.”

Ministers say the pandemic has reinforced the importance of greater broadband connectivity for all Scots in helping to keep families and loved ones connected.

The announcement comes as six locations across the north and north-east has been earned the title of Scotland’s slowest streets for broadband connection.

Grant Road in Banchory was crowned the most sluggish broadband speed with an average download speed of 0.28Mbps.

Also in the top three worst broadband spots were are Berriedale and Earlish, in Portree.

Economy Secretary Kate Forbes said the government is determined to secure adequate broadband for all through the R100 programme.

Connecting Scotland

She said: “The pandemic has reinforced the necessity for everyone to have access to fast, reliable broadband, whether for work, business, or their personal use.

“We will make sure everyone – regardless of where they live – has access to an acceptable level of connectivity so they can be part of the digital world.

“Extending the voucher scheme will help ensure no-one is excluded while we continue to roll out superfast broadband solutions across Scotland.”

Homes and businesses in Scotland struggling for connectivity now have until March 31 next year to apply for funding worth up to £400.

The R100 interim voucher is available to all homes and businesses with speeds less than 30 megabits per second and where superfast broadband roll-out is planned but is unlikely to be delivered until the new year.

More than 1,200 rural premises can now access faster speeds thanks to the voucher schemes.

Another 1,100 premises are establishing a connection within the next year.

Homes and businesses in Scotland struggling for connectivity now have until March 31 next year to apply for funding worth up to £400 under the Reaching 100% (R100) Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme.

R100 broadband scheme

The Reaching 100% (R100) programme is a commitment by the Scottish Government to provide access to superfast broadband of 30 Megabits per second (Mbps) to every home and business in Scotland.

Mrs Forbes said keeping rural communities connected has never been more important.

She added: “Accessing fast and reliable broadband has never been so important and for our more rural communities it is vital. That is why the Scottish Government is making substantial investments in digital infrastructure to ensure all of Scotland has access to high speed internet.”