There has been much talk of broadband access being key to the growth of economy worldwide for the last couple of years. Until now, broadband access to the Internet has only been available in high-density areas in the UK. This is because BT has been the only company to have realistic control over telephone exchanges and the copper lines needed to run DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) services.

Cable companies in the UK own their own coaxial TV infrastructure, and have successfully piggybacked a form of broadband access on those networks. This is suitable in areas where they have dug the roads, and for residential use, but is impossible for remote areas and useless for businesses as there are no QoS (Quality of Service) guarantees on cable networks.

Fixed wireless services are also a possibility, but like cable networks, create cells of shared bandwidth. They are cheaper to install as they don’t require digging up the roads or leasing copper from BT, but the cost of radio frequency licenses is currently so high (millions of pounds) that this is unlikely to be the solution of the future for low-density areas. Satellite is also used in some remote rural areas. The problem is that it is far more expensive per subscriber, and the latency (the time it takes to make a request for data and then start getting that data sent back to you) is very high (DSL has a latency of 30-40ms to the central exchange, whilst satellite is about 400ms). This means it is fine for web browsing, but not for real-time applications (e.g. Voice over IP, Video conferencing, and online gaming).

BT have been running ADSL for over a year now, and most ISPs in the UK have purchased wholesale ADSL services from BT, and connected the customers into their IP networks via BT. The problem has been that ISPs have little or no control on the type or quality of the DSL services provided to the end customer. Some ISPs, like edNET in Edinburgh, have been running SDSL services by purchasing dry copper circuits from BT. These have traditionally been very expensive (over £1000 per annum just for a copper circuit), but with Local Loop Unbundling (LLU), costs will become competitive with international wholesale rates for access to copper infrastructure.

This has been the picture throughout the UK. Scotland, however, has suffered from even lower penetration rates. A smaller net population than England coupled with low population density means that it has been regarded as a lower priority for ISPs rolling out new networks. Given that DSL is predominantly a cost-effective SME product, and that Scotland has such a large proportion of SMEs making up it’s business community, this leaves us poorly served. We hope that by communicating directly with Internet users in Scotland through broadbandscotland.net, we can make fast, cost effective Internet access and services a reality throughout Scotland.