Scottish MPs urge faster broadband Internet deployment in rural regions

MPs are pressing the Scottish government to speed up its part in the United Kingdom's planned deployment of broadband Internet infrastructure in rural regions suffering from slow ADSL connections.

The European Union recently approved of the United Kingdom's plan to deploy broadband on a national scale. Building on this auspicious development, MP Alan Reid (Argyll and Bute) urged both the government and the Highlands and Islands Enterprise to deploy broadband infrastructure at the soonest.

Minister David Mundell of the Scotland Office assured Mr Reid's concerns that he will galvanize the Scottish government and appropriate agencies to accelerate deployment of rural broadband services.

This assurance was not enough to quiet the concerns by other MPs. Michael Connarty, the MP for Linlithgow and East Falkirk, was of the opinion that the promised national network will not be able to cover the entire UK and will thus leave citizens out of the loop.

The growing demand for online connectivity in remote regions has spawned a number of solutions. For example, satellite Internet uses a satellite to provide connectivity and capacity to wide areas. This solution allows the provision of connectivity to some of the most remote or isolated places on Earth that cannot be reached by terrestrial networks. However, satellite Internet is usually slower and more expensive than fiber optic, and it is also negatively affected by inclement weather.