Scottish 4G Infill Programme Evaluation

Appendix F Focus Group Topic Guides

Topic Guide: Residents Focus Group

General awareness of S4GI

• - Were you aware of the S4GI Programme prior to receiving the survey?
• - If yes, how did you hear about it?

Establishing base position and extent of improvements

Broadband:

• - Availability of broadband pre S4GI / extent of sign-up / upgrade post S4GI
• - Where there are respondents within the group who have signed-up or upgraded their broadband connection, establish:
  • how they now access broadband [prompts - via a cable to the home / via a wireless connection through 4G (a fixed wireless access - FWA connection) / don’t know]
  • level of satisfaction with speed and reliability now
  • where focus group attendees aware of broadband connections through 4G (FWA) specifically:
• are FWAs available to you / have you experienced problems with FWA availability?
• where broadband known to be provided via FWA, which provider do you use / do you experience any problems with this new broadband connection?

Where there are respondents within the group who have signed-up or upgraded their broadband connection due to S4GI, questions on ‘use and impact’ and ‘impact on community’ should be aspect with respect to i) broadband and ii) 4G separately

Mobile:

• - Mobile phone access prior to S4GI / extent of change [got a phone / upgraded to smartphone / change of operator]
• - Where operator changed, which operator did you change to? How did you know?
• - Satisfaction with mobile phone connectivity and reliability inside (non-Broadband users only) and outside the home
• - Where satisfaction lower, why is this?
• - Do you experience any problems / are you aware of others experiencing problems? [prompts: not provided by my operator, locked into long-term contract with current provider, operator offering 4G does not provide same contracts as current provider; high cost/affordability issues, poor connectivity due to geographical barriers / other issue, digital skills gap / limited technical knowledge – please explain / elaborate]

Use of mobile services and impact

General use:

• - Has the availability of 4G connectivity increased your use of mobile services inside / outside home?
  • If yes, what do you use 4G for? [prompts: online learning, online shopping via non-local shops / online shopping via local shops, GP / hospital appointments, news, social networking, product information, household management tasks (e.g. online banking), entertainment, streaming, employment]
• What has been the benefit of this for you? [prompts: more in touch with friends / family / less socially isolated, need to travel less, more connected to wider world generally, wellbeing impacts, use for work when out and about in the community, able to work from home / work more, able to change jobs]
• Please explain / elaborate
• Has there been any negative impacts on you personally? [less face-to-face interaction / problems with accessing (connectivity or limited digital knowledge) meaning missed out, negative impact on wellbeing]
  • If no, why?

Impact of mobile services on wider community:

Decision to move to the area:

• - How long have you lived in the area?
• - If less than 2 years, was the availability of mobile services a factor in decision to move to the area? Could you explain why this was / was not a consideration?

Decision to stay / invest in the area:

• - Has the availability of 4G had any impact on your decision to remain in the area?
  • Please explain / elaborate.

Impact more broadly:

• - Do you think the availability of 4G has had a positive or negative impact on the community more generally?
• - What are the positive impacts? [prompts: reduced digital divide; feeling more connected to wider world; lack of connectivity is detraction from living here; ability of people to work remotely means can live here and work elsewhere; positive impacts for business]
• - What are the negative impacts? [prompts: less face-to-face interaction; some people excluded due to digital skills gap; not available to the whole of the community; has a negative impact on local services (shops / banking) as can’t compete with online convenience / prices]

Topic Guide: Business Focus Group

General awareness of S4GI

• - Were you aware of the S4GI Programme prior to receiving the survey?
• - If yes, how did you hear about it?

Establishing base position and extent of improvements

Broadband:

• - Availability of broadband pre S4GI / extent of sign-up / upgrade post S4GI
• - Where there are respondents within the group who have signed-up or upgraded their broadband connection, establish
  • how they now access broadband [prompts - via a cable to the home / via a wireless connection through 4G (an FWA connection) / don’t know]
  • level of satisfaction with speed and reliability
  • where satisfaction low, why is this / do you experience any problems? [prompts: not provided by my operator / poor connectivity due to… / high cost – please explain / elaborate]

Where there are respondents within the group who have signed-up or upgraded their broadband connection due to S4GI, questions on use, business activities and performance, and impact on community should be aspect with respect to i) broadband and ii) 4G separately

Mobile:

• - Has there been a change in signal strength and reliability inside (non-Broadband users only) and outside the business?
  • If yes, to what extent?
  • If no, why? [prompts: not provided by my operator / poor connectivity due to… / high cost – please explain / elaborate]

Use of mobile services and impact on business activities / performance

General use:

• - Has the availability of 4G connectivity increased your business’ use of mobile services inside / outside business?
  • If yes, how?
  • If no, why?

Business activities:

• - Has the availability of 4G impacted your activities as a business?
• - If yes, which activities have been affected? [prompts – communicating with staff / recruitment / promotional activities (e.g. via social media), use of online servers, file storage and access, accounting and finance, market research, selling products, quality / quantity of staff training, enabled staff to work from home, enabled communication with staff who work in the community (associated safety benefits), overall resilience benefit when broadband not working]
  • Please explain / elaborate.
  • Are there any specific examples relating to your business?
• - Has there been any negative impact on business activities?

Business performance:

• - What benefits have the changes in business activities provided in terms of the performance of the business? [prompts – employee productivity, recruitment – means by which advertise roles, recruitment – ability to recruit from wider pool due to ability to work from home, staff retention, product / services provided, customer base, cost of suppliers and raw materials, turnover, overhead costs]
  • Please explain / elaborate.
  • Are there any specific examples relating to your business?
• - Has there been any negative impacts in terms of business performance? [prompts – higher overhead costs, reduced employee productivity]
  • Please explain / elaborate.
  • Are there specific examples?

Impact of mobile services on wider community

Decision to move to the area:

• - How long has business been based in the area?
• - If less than 2 years, was the availability of mobile services a factor in decision to move to the area? Could you explain why this was / was not a consideration?

Decision to stay / invest in the area:

• - Has the availability of 4G had any impact on your decision to continue to operate in the area?
  • Please explain / elaborate.
• - Has the availability of 4G had any impact on the extent to which you have invested in the business at your current location? [prompts: recruited new staff / made capital investments]
  • Please explain / elaborate.

Changes in suppliers used:

• - Has the availability of 4G had any impact on the suppliers used? [prompts: balance of local versus non-local]