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People in the rural areas of Scotland like the Borders can now hope for better broadband services, as the Scottish government has acknowledged the poor distribution of network and speed problems and along with British Telecom is set to implement a major upgrade plan, believed to have a budget of 3million pounds. Roxburgh and Berwickshire MSP John Lamont welcomed this move while giving his opinion to the BBC. He is of the view that it is not just the coverage but also the quality of service that is in dire need of improvement.

Finance Secretary John Swinney has stressed upon the fact that the exchanges presently in operation are not able to cater to the needs of all the users, and an upgrade of the exchanges is long overdue. In Scotland, the government has installed many exchanges even in the remote areas, but the customers are not satisfied because of slow speeds, and there are places where broadband connection is not available. Detailed discussion with British Telecom has successfully brought forth a new plan, which is to be implemented shortly if all goes well.

The final programme is to be made public sometime next week, as talks are already in the final stages. BT is trying to identify fifty exchanges that cater to the remotest parts of Scotland and upgrade these so as to provide better and faster broadband services (click for fastest broadband info)

The minister for Digital Britain Stephen Timms has proposed a 50p levy on telephone bills to generate funds for this planned upgrade. According to him, the government has a grand vision of improving broadband services in the country.