Scotland Launches New Rural Broadband Scheme

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced a new funding programme for broadband in rural communities across Scotland.  

The £9m Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) is now open for grant applications from hard-to-reach communities wishing to get together to procure superfast broadband from commercial providers.  

"Superfast broadband is being rolled out across Scotland with Scottish government support, and we are more than halfway towards meeting our target under the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme," claimed Sturgeon.  

"The social and economic benefits are clear, as demonstrated by the innovative and accessible wi-fi tourist information kiosk in Oban's Phoenix Cinema," she added. 

The Oban Phoenix Cinema recently established its modern kiosk with help from previous incarnations of SRDP.  

"This scheme takes the available funding for community broadband projects up to £16.5m in Scotland, over and above the £400m DSSB investment," claimed Sturgeon.  

"It is another step to achieving the Scottish government's aim of delivering world class connectivity by 2020 and enabling people across Scotland to connect any time, any place, anywhere, using any device," she added.  

CBS Giving Communities Help They Need 

Community Broadband Scotland (CBS) will be responsible for delivering SRDP 2014-20 broadband grant scheme.  

"Access to high speed, robust broadband has a transformational effect on how people live, work and learn, particularly in our most remote and rural communities," claimed CBS direct Zoe Laird.  

"Our role at CBS is to help communities and find innovative solutions and GigaPlus Argyll is a great example of an innovative business model that will bring transformational and robust broadband to the most remote of premises across eight island and mainland communities.  

"The SRDP will enable us to help even more rural communities across Scotland get digitally connected," she added.  

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