Question reference: S5W-06137
- Date lodged: 12 January 2017
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Current status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 23 January 2017
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure future new housing estates will have fibre broadband installed during construction.
Answer
Although responsibility for the delivery of telecommunications networks is currently a reserved matter, the Scottish Government has taken steps to assist with rollout of broadband during housing construction.
From 1 January 2017, amendments to the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 set a standard for in-building physical infrastructure for high-speed electronic communications networks. This enables easier installation of fibre at any time (on or after completion) and applies to new homes and other buildings.
We have also discussed this issue with BT Openreach, whom, we understand, now offer to provide fibre to the premises (FTTP) connectivity to developments of 30 properties or more, and have a tariff proposal for smaller housing developments.