How many people in Scotland have no access to broadband because of their locations and what action it will take to increase broadband avail…

Our commitment is to ensureevery community in Scotland will have access to broadband by the end of thisyear. This increased access is being delivered through the Executive’s “Broadbandfor Scotland’s rural and remote areas” procurement and contractaward to BT, which will bring ADSL broadband to 378 rural exchanges in Scotland.
BT have themselves committedto try and provide broadband to any UK household served by an enabled exchange. Somepeople, who live a considerable distance from their exchange, may however experiencedifficulty in receiving a broadband connection. There is no available figure onthe extent of this problem, as it will only be confirmed once customersactually place orders for broadband and their line is tested for broadbandconnectivity. Nonetheless, we are actively working to ascertain the location ofany Scottish communities who are “out of reach” of ADSL technology. In thesecases, the Executive will work with BT to identify solutions appropriate todemand.