New research has revealed that Scotland is home to some of the UK’s worst areas for digital connectivity.
Dumfries and Galloway have the poorest digital access in all of Scotland and fourth worst in the UK with more than 20 percent of people in the area having not used the internet at all in the past three months, if ever – nearly triple the national average of people who had not used the internet in that timeframe (seven percent).
One in six premises in Dumfries and Galloway also lacks access to superfast broadband compared to the 98 percent of premises with superfast broadband in the UK’s most connected place – Bexley and Greenwich.
The study, carried out by marketing experts N.Rich, used new ONS and Ofcom data to rank areas based on how many people had been online in the past three months and the number of premises with access to superfast broadband, in order to discover the country’s least and most digitally connected places.
Behind Dumfries and Galloway, Perth and Kincross and Stirling ranked as Scotland’s second worst place for digital connectivity, and the eighth worst in the UK.
Thirteen percent of people in Perth and Kincross and Stirling had not accessed the internet at all in the past three months, and one in seven premises failed to get coverage for superfast Broadband.
Fermanagh and Omagh in Northern Ireland ranked as the least digitally connected area in the UK and Powys in Wales was the second worst-off area when it came to online connection.
At the other end of the scale, Croydon and Brighton were among the towns with the best digital connection.
A spokesperson for N.Rich, which conducted the study, said: “When you compare the internet use of UK residents with their ability to access fast broadband, it paints a clear picture of the digital divide and where it hits hardest.
"As the internet is now our core means of communication, from educating our children, to accessing work and running businesses, it’s more important than ever to ensure that every part of the UK has good digital access”.
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