Ofcom’s annual Connected Nations Report on broadband and mobile phone coverage in the UK has revealed that Scotland is lagging behind England and Wales when it comes to overall connectivity.

The report, the first edition of which was published in 2011, found that only 87% of Scottish premises have access to superfast broadband coverage (that which offers a download speed of 30Mbit/s, according to Ofcom). In England, 91% of premises are set up with superfast broadband, while Wales boasts 89% coverage of fixed broadband services delivering superfast speeds.

Although this marks a 4% increase on last year’s report – indeed, Scotland’s improvement in the provision of superfast broadband since 2015 surpasses any other UK nation, with 14% more premises now able to access broadband speeds of 30Mbit/s – the only nation in the UK deemed to provide poorer access to superfast broadband was Northern Ireland, where only 85% of premises have coverage producing the required download speed.

Why is superfast so important?

Ofcom considers access to superfast broadband a necessary requirement if business practice in the UK is to remain fair and competitive.

The Connected Nations Report notes that small businesses are increasingly dependent on superfast broadband. Of particular concern is the report’s finding that 16% of small businesses – or 500,000 firms – currently do not have access to coverage which delivers superfast speeds.

This is to say nothing of the 230,000 businesses who have broadband below the standard 10Mbit/s download speed set out in the government’s Universal Service Obligation (USO).

Mobile Coverage

The Connected Nations Report also highlighted mobile coverage as an area in need significant improvement if Scotland’s connection credentials are to be strengthened.

Rather than focusing exclusively on the varying speeds of available broadband to assess connectivity, the study equally concentrates on mobile data coverage, which has been supplementing broadband as its use has grown in recent years.

The report reveals that the average monthly usage of mobile data has risen by 46% since 2016 in the UK, with the rollout of 4G driving growth.

However, caused in part by what the SNP’s Fergus Ewing acknowledged as “the challenging nature of our [Scotland’s] geography”, Ofcom reports that only 40% of Scotland’s landmass is adequately equipped with a reliable telephone connection, compared to a UK average of 70%.

Worse still, the study revealed that while 63% of the UK’s landmass is covered by mobile data, the figure drops to a mere 31% in Scotland.

Political Tensions

The report comes in the midst of a series of heated exchanges between the SNP and Matt Hancock, the British Government’s Digital Minister.

The principal point of contention is the progress of the SNP’s Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband Plan (DSSB), which Conservative MPs and MSPs regard as inadequate. Ewing, the Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity, has defended the project as the first of its kind in the UK.

Seeking Clarity

While both sides of the debate have inevitably drawn different conclusions from the data provided by Ofcom, neither have offered a faithful picture of the state of Scotland’s connectivity.

It is clear that vast improvements have been made– the number of premises now able to access superfast broadband is now at 87% compared to 73% only two years ago. In addition, some of the problems hindering the provision of superfast broadband in Scotland are UK-wide, such as the prevalence of a rural-urban divide with respect to the availability of both broadband and telephone and mobile data coverage.

However, further improvement is necessary so that Scotland’s homes and businesses can stay connected – in particular when it comes to coverage of mobile data. Though this is complicated by the country’s geography and low population density in more northerly regions, this is a task which the DSSB must confront if it is to improve on Ofcom’s findings.