Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans are in place to improve access to broadband services in Dumfries and Galloway constituency.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The current Phase 1 superfast broadband project covering the 'Rest of Scotland' (excluding the Highlands & Islands) had provided superfast broadband coverage to 500,000 premises by the end of June 2017 and this is scheduled to increase to 572,000 by the end of the contract in December 2018. Superfast coverage for Dumfries and Galloway is expected to reach approximately 82% of premises as a result. Further superfast broadband delivery in Dumfries and Galloway is dependent on the Scottish Government procuring a second broadband contract. The government allocated £20.99 million to support a second contract in February 2014, but the Scottish Government has yet to begin a procurement, and will be the last area in the UK to do so.
For premises not covered by superfast broadband, the UK government will ensure universal broadband coverage of at least 10Mbps.
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many properties in Dumfries and Galloway constituency have a broadband service of less than 10mbps.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Departmental modelling suggests that approximately 9,400 premises (just under 18%) in the constituency of Dumfries and Galloway have a broadband speed of less than 10Mbps.