Digital

Digital connectivity – The story of the Reaching 100% (R100) programme

April 4, 2024 by Stewart Hamilton No Comments | Category Digital Scotland, Reaching 100% programme

Blog by Karen Tease, Communications and Engagement Executive, Digital Connectivity Division.

This is the first blog in a short series providing background and updates on the R100 programme.

Bringing superfast broadband to Scotland is one of the most ambitious infrastructure programmes in Europe and as such, digital connectivity is a key part of the Digital Scotland Strategy. It sets out the measures which will ensure that Scotland will fulfil its potential in a constantly evolving digital world. 

Reaching 100% programme (R100) 

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 and continued commercial coverage.

R100 built upon the successful Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme, which connected more than 950,600 homes and businesses across Scotland. DSSB has been estimated to deliver over £2.76 billion over 15 years for the Scottish economy with every £1 of public funding being expected to deliver £12 of benefits to the Scottish economy.

Below is a video of how R100 works: 

Contracts were awarded to BT and the network is being delivered by Openreach across three geographical areas. All of the planned R100 contract build in the South and North, and the remaining build in Central will be gigabit capable, which is more than 30 times faster than the original commitment. As much of the technology delivered will go beyond the original superfast commitment, the engineering works will take time and will be phased in over the coming years.  

Given the ongoing global supply chain issues that are currently being experienced and that much of the technology delivered will go beyond our original commitment, the engineering works will take time and connections will be delivered on a rolling basis. R100 contracts are expected to be completed in 2028. 

R100 Scottish broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) 

SBVS ensures that every home and business in Scotland can access superfast broadband. 

A subsidy of up to £5,000 is available to all eligible premises and covers all direct installation costs, which is carried out by a registered supplier. 

You can watch the video below to see how things work with the scheme.  

In the next blog we will look at the R100 programme from the perspective of one of our registered suppliers.

To learn more about the programme please visit Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband or follow us on X.  

Tags: broadband, connectivity, R100, Reaching 100 % programme, scotland

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