Scotland disappointed over funding

It has been announced that Scotland is disappointed over the level of funding that it has received for the laying of new network cables from the UK government.

Earlier this week the Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that five hundred and thirty million pounds was to form the funding that was needed to improve broadband infrastructure in areas where there is currently inadequate coverage. A portion of this is set to go to Scotland so that network cables can be laid across the rural areas in the country.

According to reports around seventy million pounds of the funding is set to be allocated to Scotland for these measures to be carried out. However, the Scottish government is said to be disappointed with the amount of funding that is being allocated to it from the UK government in order for the network cables to be laid out in hard to reach rural areas.

Scotland’s infrastructure secretary Alex Neil has stated that the amount of money that has been allocated will not make a huge amount of difference to the problem. In fact, he went as far as to say that it would require around three hundred million pounds in order to provide superfast broadband to just the Highlands and Islands.

He stated: “I am disappointed with the allocation from the UK government towards the UK government’s ambition for the rollout of next generation broadband across the whole of Scotland. Whilst today’s funding will contribute in some measure to fulfilment of our broadband ambition, we will play our own part through direct investment of Scottish government funding, as well as exploring alternative financing models.”

Source – Comms-Express