Hyslop Welcomes Scottish Government Commitment to Superfast Broadband for all of West Lothian
Fiona Hyslop MSP for the Linlithgow Constituency has welcomed the commitment made at Holyrood last week from the Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands, Paul Wheelhouse, to deliver access to superfast broadband to every home and business in the country.
Despite telecommunications being an entirely reserved matter and all legal and regulatory powers sitting with United Kingdom ministers, the Scottish Government has made significant progress in terms of superfast broadband. In his statement to Parliament the Minister announced the use of full fibre—or fibre to the premises—technology. That will provide access to gigabit-capable speeds of 1,000Mpbs.
Fiona commented,
“This is welcome news for West Lothian, especially for those who live in the most rural parts of the constituency and who have had difficulty accessing superfast broadband in the past.
“If it had been left to the UK Government’s Broadband expansion plans, only 63% of premises in West Lothian would have access to superfast broadband. Thanks to the Scottish Government’s Digital Programme, it has now reached up to 97%.
“I also met with Openreach last week where we discussed their building of a new, faster, more reliable and future proof Broadband network. Work is underway already in Bathgate, Broxburn and Whitburn.”
ENDS
To read the Minister’s statement in full click below:
http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=12448&i=112538