Concerns over slow broadband in rural Fife

Cllr Jonny Tepp said his constituents do not receive the broadband speeds they pay for despite being near a cabinet with a fibre connection (FTTC).

He added: “We are constantly told that high-quality broadband is being rolled out across Scotland and is in our area, however, without the final fibre connection to the properties it still feels to some as though they are not getting what they pay for.

“This is particularly important now that more people are working from home and many would like to continue this into the future. But for online video conferencing to work or for users who need a high bandwidth the situation is not always good for them.”

Cllr Tepp said that a website designed to tell Scots when their broadband is due to be upgraded has provided new information.

He added: “This can give four results: the premise already gets superfast broadband – no more support available from government; it is in scope to get superfast through R100 by end of 2021 – no other support available; it is in scope but not scheduled until 2022 onwards (£400 grant available for a temporary solution like satellite); or out of scope for R100 – grants of up to £5000 available for each premise. These grants can be used by neighbours working together to get alternative solution.

“If a group of neighbours who are ‘out of scope’ work as a group, then the total grant available is likely to make it more attractive for the supplier. I’m waiting for the whole Fife picture to work out how many premises and in which areas, so we can see what is required from the council.

“It was very interesting to see that there was a section devoted to Community Fibre Partnerships which suggested that neighbours without FTTP could group together in order to pursue this option which would have the most dramatic impact on broadband speeds.”