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Recom studies availability of communications services in Scotland for Ofcom
Ofcom, the regulator for the UK communications industries, recently published its second annual review of telecoms, television and radio markets across the nations and regions of the UK.
A key part of this was a survey examining the availability of communications services in rural Scotland, which was undertaken by Recom.
Last year’s report concluded that differences in the availability, take-up and usage of such communications services across the UK could be explained by factors such as whether an individual lives in a rural or urban location, their age and socio-economic profile and their attitudes towards communications technology.
That report also pointed to significant gaps in the availability of communications services in areas with larger rural populations such as Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and the South West.
Following the 2006 report and recognising the importance of the rural/urban divide, Ofcom commissioned a programme of research to help improve their understanding of the challenges faced by people living in rural parts of the UK.
The following is a summary of the full report, which can be accessed on the Ofcom website.
The research was conducted in early 2007 to examine the take-up of, and demand for, communications services in rural areas. The results confirmed last year’s findings that take-up of certain communications services (notably digital television, broadband and 3G mobile) is lower in rural areas. However, among those yet to acquire these technologies, only a small minority have been prevented from doing so by lack of availability.
Scotland leads the UK in making phone calls over the internet – so called VoIP services. A higher proportion of internet users in Scotland (19%) use VoIP services than in England (18%), Wales (16%) and Northern Ireland (15%).
Recom also found that consumers in Scotland believe that having a landline phone available to every household is almost as important as having an electricity supply.
Overall, the Ofcom report shows that this “digital divide” between the UK nations is diminishing, and that the gap between ‘leaders’ and ‘laggards’ on key indicators has narrowed over the past year, with availability and take-up in rural areas closing on urban conurbations.
"Concern has been raised that a so-called digital divide exists in the availability of services, particularly broadband, in rural and urban areas in the UK," said Ofcom. "But this report shows that the gap is closing, and 41 per cent of adults in rural areas have broadband internet at home compared to 45 per cent of adults in urban areas.”
Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards welcomed the findings, but warned against complacency.
“The geographic gap between the digital haves and have-nots in the UK has been gradually narrowing,” he said, “but we need to do more to ensure that everyone is able to benefit from the economic and social benefits modern communications offer.”
Changing regulation, enabling greater geographical coverage, could help to increase access to wireless broadband in rural areas.
Click here to read a detailed summary of the research findings
