Scottish Highlands & Islands – Availability, Adoption and the Uses of Broadband Internet Access

1. Scottish Highlands & Islands – Availability, Adoption and the Uses of Broadband Internet Access Ewan Sutherland* & Jason Whalley** *University of Witwatersrand & University of Namur **Northumbria University

2. Outline • Highlands & Islands • Aspirations for the region • Broadband • Lessons from elsewhere in the British Isles • Conclusions

3. Highlands & Islands Source: Scottish Government (2012), GROS (2012)

4. Employment by local authority area, 2011 Source: Scottish Government (2012)

5. Highlands & Islands Enterprise: ‘Ambitions for growth’

6. Adoption of ICT in Scotland Source: Ofcom (2012)

7. Households with / without broadband in 2011 by urban/rural classifications Source: Scottish Government (2012)

8. Rural broadband HM Treasury • Allocated £120m for rural broadband in Scotland • Scottish Government directed this money towards H&IE rather than the local authorities Community Broadband Scotland • £5m in funding from the Scottish Government • Focused on helping initiatives in rural communities. • Provides financial support and (some) informational resources

9. Completing the coverage map Extract from broadband state aid maps showing grey and white zones Various initiatives to improve coverage. E.g.: • Mobile Infrastructure Project: £150 million of UK funds • 4G coverage obligation: one licence has a 95% coverage of the Scottish population But • No discussion of satellite • Prominent position given to technology trials serving a handful of people

10. Adoption Some information & skills provision, e.g.: • Digital Highlands & Islands ICT underpinned economic revival • Substantial investment in call & contact centres • Home working • Rural businesses use the Internet, but owners lack a desire to grow these businesses

11. Lessons from elsewhere in the British Isles Superfast Cornwall • Established in 2010 to improve infrastructure within Cornwall • £132m initial budget, from a variety of sources (ERDF, BT). • Lessons: 1) focusing on the majority of homes 2) use of multiple technologies 3) grants to encourage adoption Republic of Ireland • In 2008 Hutchison Whampoa awarded contract to provide broadband those in rural Ireland without access • Three parties funded the scheme: ERDF (€30m), government (€50m), Hutchison 3G Ireland (€143m) • Lessons: 1) swift implementation is possible 2) available and affordable technology used 3) inclusion of ‘performance criteria’ in the contract

12. Conclusions Distance and population densities result in the commercial provision of infrastructure being unviable Assertions surrounding the ‘public good’ nature of broadband lack support Nationalism/independence skews the debate • London responds (or not) to Scottish demands • UK policies ignored as Scottish ones are developed without any legal foundation to do so • Lessons not learnt from elsewhere in the British Isles

13. Contact details Ewan Sutherland Jason Whalley Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, Newcastle NE1 8ST Jason.whalley@northumbria.ac.uk University of Witwatersrand & University of Namur sutherla@gmail.com