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.

More than 53,000 homes across north still waiting on superfast broadband scheme

The R100 programme is not expected to be completed until 2028, seven years behind the original deadline.

The Scottish Government committed to enabling access to superfast broadband - speeds of at least 30 megabits per second - to every home and business in Scotland. Image: DC Thomson.
The Scottish Government committed to enabling access to superfast broadband - speeds of at least 30 megabits per second - to every home and business in Scotland. Image: DC Thomson.

More than 53,000 homes across the north have yet to be connected to superfast broadband through the SNP’s upgrade programme.

The Reaching (R100) project, announced in 2017, was supposed to bring faster internet to around 60,000 homes and businesses across northern Scotland by the end of 2021.

But the scheme is not expected to be completed until 2028 for those in the north lot, seven years behind the original deadline.

Most of rural Scotland makes up the north lot, including areas such as the Highlands and Islands, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of Perthshire.

A freedom of information response shows that as of May, a total of 53,867 premises are still to be connected as part of the programme in the north.

Table shows number of premises that are awaiting superfast broadband connection out of the total premises contracted for delivery under the R100 scheme. E.g. Out of 60,764 total contracts in the North, 53,867 are still pending, with only 6,897 delivered.
The number of premises still to be connected under the R100 scheme. Image: DC Thomson.

The Tories said residents living in communities will be “appalled” by the “shocking figures” which lay bear the extent of the properties still to be completed.

More than a thousand homes and businesses have been connected across Aberdeenshire and more than 2,500 across the Highlands and Islands.

But there are still thousands of homes across the north waiting to be hooked up.

Table shows the number of premises connected to the R100 scheme by Holyrood constituency.
The number of premises connected to the R100 scheme by Holyrood constituency. Image: DC Thomson.

What is the R100 programme?

The Scottish Government promised access to superfast broadband – speeds of at least 30 megabits per second – to every home and business in Scotland.

Around 114,000 premises are now expected to be connected through three R100 contracts: north, south and central lots.

There was a legal challenge to the north lot contract. This was resolved but meant the contract was not awarded until December 2020.

Table shows number of premises connected with superfast broadband in three regional lots (North, Central, South).
Number of premises connected in each of the three regional lots. Image: DC Thomson.

The programme also includes a voucher scheme to help people connect to superfast broadband in northern Scotland.

Those not covered by the R100 scheme can apply for a one-off voucher of £5,000 to help them set up a permanent superfast connections themselves.

Premises in the north lot receive lower average speeds than elsewhere in the country. This is because of the geography and distance between premises.


‘Shocking figures’

Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid said: “Residents living in communities within the north lot will rightly be appalled by these shocking figures which illustrate the woeful rollout of the R100 scheme.

“Superfast broadband connectivity is absolutely crucial for our rural economy but this snail’s pace level of progress means our communities are in real danger of being left behind.”

David Duguid, Banff and Buchan Conservative MP, who has criticised the slow rollout of superfast broadband in Scotland.
David Duguid, Banff and Buchan Conservative MP has criticised the slow rollout of superfast broadband in Scotland. Image: Supplied.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The Scottish Government’s Reaching 100% (R100) and Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programmes have already connected around one million properties across Scotland to faster broadband – despite telecommunications across the UK being entirely reserved to the UK Government.

“We are investing more than £600 million through the R100 contracts, extending full fibre broadband to some of the hardest to reach rural communities, and our demand-led R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme is ensuring those not within build plans through the contracts or commercial coverage can still secure a superfast broadband connection.

“The Scottish Government continues to urge the UK Government to extend gigabit networks to Scotland’s rural communities, given telecoms is their responsibility.”