The Scottish government is tacklingrural broadbandaccess problems with a
special £3.5m connectivity programme.
Individuals and businesses have been asked to come forward about
their broadband connectivity problems so they can be addressed by
the Scottish government.
An open procurement process, worth up to £3.5m, has now started
to find suitable providers to deliver services to rural users
currently experiencing problems.
Enterprise minister, Jim Mather, said, "Broadband is an
increasingly vital tool for business and is now used by more and
more households as a standard utility.
"By extending the availability of affordable broadband, we can
help create a wealthier and fairer Scotland."
Anyone with access problems should inform the Scottish
government by the end of 2007 to enable connectivity work to begin
in 2008.
Scotland is said to have more than 99% broadband availability,
but the Scottish government says it has been monitoring continuing
access difficulties and it aims to satisfy unmet demand for
affordable broadband.
Scots experiencing broadband access problems can register via an
online service.