Shetland Telecom calls for more super-fast broadband support

Scotland's Highlands and Islands need more government support if the region is to benefit from universal super-fast broadband access by 2020, according to Shetland Telecom.

Some £120 million of public money is set to be invested in rolling out next-generation connectivity in the area, but the communications provider warned that this total will be nowhere near enough to achieve the government's target.

Marvin Smith, manager of the company's project to deploy fibre optic broadband across the Shetland Islands, told Shetland News that "much, much more" money is needed for the initiative.

This is because Shetland and the rest of the Highlands and Islands are "the most expensive" places to reach with fast broadband infrastructure, he claimed.

"What we need is networks being put in place to provide the foundations on which we - and on which community groups - can build to reach areas this won't get to," Mr Smith added.

In May, Shetland Telecom tested its super-fast broadband service by relaying live streams of the RSPB's PuffinCam at Sumburgh Head.

The move was part of a project that has linked Shetland to a subsea fibre optic cable running between the Faroe Islands and mainland Scotland.