Isles well placed for new broadband fund
SHETLAND’S remote communities are ideally placed to take advantage of a £5 million Scottish government fund to promote superfast broadband.
However with just £1 million available this year, people are being told to get their skates on when it comes to putting in a bid for funding.
The government announced on Thursday that in October it will open a one-stop-shop with a dedicated team of staff to advise and provide “hands on assistance” to rural community groups wanting better broadband.
The Community Broadband Scotland initiative will also offer a £5 million seed fund over three years to support groups wanting to improve access to the internet.
It will be targeted at communities amongst the 10 to 15 per cent least likely to benefit from next generation broadband in the Step Change 2015 programme. In Shetland these communities include the outlying islands, Northmavine and the west side.
In the first year £1 million will go towards testing projects using technical solutions and business models that could serve as case studies to be replicated across Scotland.
However Marvin Smith, of Shetland Telecom, said that Shetland has already set up two successful case studies in Fetlar and Vidlin for a total cost of £50,000.
He said Shetland is better placed than anywhere else to set up schemes because of the existing fibre optic connection that now links Lerwick and Scalloway to the rest of the world.
“This is welcome and seed funding like this might attract other funding to help communities who otherwise are likely to have to wait a lot longer before they receive superfast broadband,” Mr Smith said.
“We already have case studies in Vidlin and Fetlar, we already have the internet point of presence because of the fibre optic cable, so we should be in a position to get as much money out of this fund as possible.
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“We also have our own ISP (internet service provider) in Shetland Broadband. Most place don’t have the level of expertise that we have here to deliver this kind of thing.
“Setting up community schemes for Shetland should be an awful lot easier than it should be anywhere else, but it will require communities to get together.” The Scottish government has made it a key priority to create a “world class digital infrastructure” by 2020.
Anyone seeking further advice can contact Mr Smith at marvin.smith@shetland.gov.uk
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