Rural broadband concerns

THE Highlands could be left at the back of the queue by a government scheme to deliver next- generation broadband across the country, it is claimed.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday announced that moves to extend broadband coverage would benefit 90 per cent of Britain and this would shortly increase to 95 per cent.

But Danny Alexander, MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, said many households in the Highlands would be left outside broadband provision.

He said little attention was being paid to the needs of the Highlands and other parts of rural Britain.

"A significant number of people in the Highlands will be charged to fund a broadband upgrade which will never reach them, even though the service they receive is already lagging far behind."