The £410 million government project to connect every corner of Scotland to superfast broadband by the end of next year is in danger of missing its target, it has been claimed.
MSP Murdo Fraser expressed his fears after learning only 52% of Perth and Kinross is currently connected, while in Angus it is 63%, Dundee 94% and Fife 74%.
The Scottish Government’s Digital Superfast Broadband Programme aims to make fibre-based broadband available to 95% of all premises by the end of 2017.
Mr Fraser said: “With only 52% of premises in Perth and Kinross connected to superfast broadband the Scottish Government has a big job on its hands to meet the 95% target by 2017, and unless real strides are made I struggle to see how this will be achieved.
“It is disappointing to learn that only Scotland’s islands and remote highland communities have a poorer connection to the superfast broadband grid than those in Perth and Kinross.
“Poor broadband connections and slow internet speeds are stunting the growth of businesses across the region and causing serious frustration for people at home trying to watch Netflix or BBC iPlayer.
“With access to the internet central to almost every aspect of daily life, including using vital public services, it is high time that better digital infrastructure was delivered in Perth and Kinross and I would call on the Scottish Government to quicken the pace of its current initiatives.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The digital Scotland superfast broadband programme is making excellent progress, with over 500,000 premises covered so far.
“We have already met our interim national target of 85% coverage by March 2016, and are well on the way to achieving our 95% target by the end of next year.
“The DSSB programme is delivering significant investment across Scotland. In Perth and Kinross 90% of premises will have access to fibre broadband once the project has rolled out.
“Coverage would only have been 40% without the programme’s investment.
“In Fife 98.4% will have access, Dundee City 98.7% will have access and Angus 93.5% will have access.
“Coverage would only have been 69.2%, 95% and 69.7%, respectively, without our investment.
“The commercial fibre rollout has now passed more than 220,000 premises in Fife, Angus, Dundee and Perth and Kinross and we are working with our partners to roll this out further as the programme continues.”
A spokesperson for BT said: “We’re still in the process of rolling out high-speed fibre broadband across Scotland, working hand in hand with the public sector.”
They said “significant work” is planned for Perth and Kinross in the coming months and the latest detail is available atwww.scotlandsuperfast.com.
