Call for better broadband in the Cairngorms
Broadband needs to reach the hard to get to places says Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for the strath, Mike Robb
Mr Robb, who is standing for the party for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey at the May 2015 General Election, said: “Many of the small businesses I work with depend on access to reliable, high-speed broadband to do business.
"It’s a key service, vital to generating and sustaining good quality, well paid jobs, especially in the Highlands.
“High speed broadband is a vital service to grow and sustain the Highland economy. We need some better options."
Mr Robb, who works in the technology sector, said: “Westminster, Holyrood, HIE and BT have done a decent job so far in rolling out high-speed broadband in the Highlands but it is mainly the towns and areas near them that have benefited.
“If you live or run a business in areas like the strath, or down Ness-side your internet connection can be very poor, with no dates from BT when it will get better.
“Local Labour MSP Rhoda Grant is right that a one size fits all rollout target doesn’t work for the Highlands.
"It's too easy for BT to hit their numbers by concentrating on the easy to get to areas.
“Using just a single supplier like BT also means we are locked in to one main technology solution.
"Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) works fine in urban areas, but doesn’t help if your home or business is miles away from the nearest cabinet, in places like Kingussie or Newtonmore.
"We need to get BT to look at other solutions like wireless or include specialist suppliers in the rollout programme.”
