Moray being 'ripped off' by high-speed internet
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A SWEEPING plan to bring high-speed internet to virtually all of Moray has been slammed by councillors, who have pointed to scores of complaints from the public claiming a substandard service.
Members of a Moray Council committee were told that 83 per cent of properties in Moray now have access to high-speed connections, should they sign-up to such a package, with this figure expected to rise to 93 per cent by the end of the year.
However, several councillors dismissed elements of the report, with one elected member saying the public was being "ripped off".
The report to the economic development and infrastructure services committee outlined progress made during phase one of a Scottish Government scheme called Digital Scotland, which in Moray is being operated by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and British Telecom (BT), to improve high-speed coverage.
However, problems in communities such as Buckie, Lossiemouth and Rothes were highlighted. One major concern, councillors claimed, was that customers being sold BT Infinity Broadband packages were not able to receive the advertised speeds.
Buckie councillor Gordon McDonald said he switched to high-speed broadband "and noticed no difference whatsoever".
"My concern is we have great-looking figures but nobody is saying what the definition of high-speed broadband is," he said.
"In the Buckie area, people are signing up to high-speed broadband but then they convert back because it is too slow.
"I would be astonished if the percentage is anything like it says here. It’s not delivering high-speed broadband and that’s my concern."
The SNP councillor said a large amount of taxpayer money was being spent on the roll-out of the scheme, and a better service must be provided.
"We are being ripped off," he added.
Fellow Buckie councillor Sonya Warren (SNP) said she attended a meeting in the town, relating to high-speed internet coverage, which was attended by more than 100 people.
"Everyone is relying on BT .... but BT do not comply with what they are actually saying," she said. "They will take orders but can’t fulfil them, and people are having to spend time without any broadband because it doesn’t work."
Committee chairman Councillor John Cowe (Independent) described high-speed internet as just as important as electricity and running water for some people and businesses. "But they (BT) are accepting business for BT Infinity knowing they can’t provide the service," he claimed.
Councillor Pearl Paul, SNP councillor for Speyside Glenlivet, said similar problems were being encountered in Speyside. "A number of people in Rothes are complaining how slow it is," she said.
"There’s all these ups and downs and the problems are happening quite regularly. They (customers) have been contacting BT but been getting nowhere fast.
"It’s a shame because everybody was so upbeat when we learned we were getting high-speed broadband but we haven’t. In fact, it’s extremely slow."
Councillor Allan Wright (Conservative for Heldon and Laich) described the situation as "fairly critical".
"I remember all the bell ringing that went on when Buckie was first to get high-speed broadband but it clearly hasn’t happened," he said.
"One person told me he had high-speed broadband until his neighbour switched his on. Within an hour he was worse off than before he got high-speed broadband."
Councillor Wright also drew attention to mobile phone connections. "It may not be as important for the business community but for the average user, mobile connectivity still leaves a lot to be desired," he added.
Rhona Gunn, the council’s corporate director of economic development, infrastructure and planning, said it would be important to get a "Moray-wide picture", so that the issue can be taken up with both BT and HIE.
Councillor Cowe said the committee should write to HIE, stating their concerns over the assertion that 93 per cent of Moray will be covered by high-speed internet by the end of the year. "They might be covered, but the service itself isn’t there," said.
A BT spokesman told The Northern Scot: "Around 77 per cent of homes and businesses in Moray can get speeds in excess of 24Mbs, according to the leading independent website Thinkbroadband.
"We are on track with the Digital Scotland programme and BT’s own commercial deployment to reach around 93 per cent coverage in Moray by the end of 2016. Further details can be found at www.hie.co.uk/digital.
"Customers can only be sold BT Infinity if they can get speeds in excess of 15Mbs. If there is no material benefit to customers, service providers will advise of the options available."
Stuart Robertson, director of digital for for HIE, added: "So far, the new fibre network can reach 83 per cent of Moray premises and we do expect to reach more than nine out of 10 premises by the end of this year. Latest independent figures indicate that more than 75 per cent of Moray premises could now access download speeds of more than 30 Mbps and more than 85 per cent are above 10 Mbps."
Mr Robertson said the creation of the fibre optic network in the area will have "significant long-term benefits" for Moray.
"It provides capacity previously unavailable and helps future proof the network – the infrastructure will support future technology growth.
"It opens up fibre-based broadband services to many homes and businesses; it also helps with additional provision including dedicated business services; and it provides the capacity needed by mobile operators to provide data services.
"In terms of speed for individual customers, internet service providers should be able to provide information about expected services. There are current technological constraints.
"The speed of service any customer gets is dependent on their distance from the fibre cabinet. Some people connected may be just too far away to benefit. As was the case with ADSL copper broadband services, this may improve as technology improves."
As a rule of thumb, Mr Robertson said that if copper wiring from the cabinet to the customer’s home is 1km or less they are likely to see up to superfast speeds of 24 Mbps and more. If they are up to 2kms away speeds should still be quick, she said, but after that distance they fall away quite sharply.
"There are parts of Moray, including the centre of Buckie, where copper-based broadband is very good, reaching 20 Mbps download. "However, even here, a customer moving to fibre could see a much improved upload speed which is unavailable through ADSL. The availability opens up options for the customer – they can choose which provides the best service and price.
"Speed at home can be tricky to assess as there a variety of things that can affect performance – the kit someone is using or if they are checking the speed of their wifi – which is never the same as the actual hard wired speed to the router. That is why we refer people to their internet service provider in the first instance as they can identify if it’s a line problem or an internal problem."
