Broadband U-Turn is Welcomed
Mark Griffin MSP and Gregg McClymont MP have welcomed the news that BT will honour previous guarantees and roll out fibre broadband for black spots in Cumbernauld. Both the MSP and MP were left angered by BT’s decision to scrap its proposed broadband upgrades in Craigmarloch in November after saying the plans were not “commercially viable”.
The MSP and MP have received hundreds of complaints from Craigmarloch residents about the poor service in the area. BT was scheduled to extend superfast broadband to the area in March 2012. This was then delayed to September 2012, and then put off once again to December 2012. Having informed Mr Griffin in November that the project was commercially unviable, BT have now made a U-turn on this and will upgrade five cabinets serving Carrickstone, Craigmarloch, Westfield and Smithstone.
Mark said:
“I am pleased that BT has reconsidered its position on this matter. I was concerned at the news in November that the upgrades were not going ahead and made representations on behalf of local people who contacted me about the inability to access superfast broadband.
“It is unacceptable that a town the size of Cumbernauld has had considerably substandard broadband speeds for so long, so it is vital that BT go ahead with the works at the earliest opportunity.
“However the Scottish Government must step up to the plate too and direct some investment to the area. I recognise that rural areas have a poor service and that has to be addressed, but it should not mean that our urban hubs like Cumbernauld get neglected, something that appears to have been happening in recent years.”
Gregg McClymont MP added:
“I am delighted that BT have u-turned on their previous decision to upgrade internet connections in these areas and have included them in their infrastructure upgrade programme. This will be welcome news for the internet starved constituents on whose behalf I petitioned ministers.
“However, some of Cumbernauld will still have a poor internet connection even after this round of investment. That’s why I support my colleague Mark Griffin’s call for the Scottish Government to invest in Cumbernauld to give us a better broadband service.”
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