Reaching 100% (R100) superfast broadband costs: FOI release

Information requested

1. When does the Scottish Government anticipate that the rollout of R100 superfast broadband will be completed?

2. How much has the R100 rollout so far cost?

3. What is the expected total cost?

4. So far, how many R100 Scottish Broadband Vouchers have been issued?

Response

The Scottish Government policy commitment of ensuring access to 100% superfast broadband coverage by 2021 was met via the three strands of the Reaching 100% (R100) programme – the R100 contracts, our R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) and continued commercial coverage. The vast majority of build delivered through the R100 contracts will be full fibre and gigabit- capable, delivering speeds around 30 times faster than our original superfast aim and we expect rollout of broadband through the R100 contracts to be completed by 2028.

As of the end of September 2024, the Scottish Government has paid a total of £253 million across the three R100 contracts to our delivery partner, Openreach. As per our website at https://digitalconnectivity.campaign.gov.scot/about-r100, a total of around £697 million is being provided to deliver R100 contract build, with approximately £591 million from the Scottish Government, £52 million from the UK Government and £53 million from BT (as per the website, these figures have been rounded). We have also provided funding of around £11 million to deliver vouchers through both the R100 SBVS and as top-ups to the UK Government’s Gigabit Voucher Scheme.

As of 17 September 2024, a total of 4,555 connections have been delivered as a direct result of utilisation of vouchers through the R100 SBVS. The Data Insights page on our website at https://digitalconnectivity.campaign.gov.scot/data-insights now provides regular updates on how many connections have been delivered through both the voucher scheme and the three R100 contracts. This information is broken down and provided at contract lot, Scottish Local Authority and Scottish Parliamentary constituency levels.

About FOI

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