The UK and Scottish governments have launched plans to improve broadband speeds for people in Fife. The Project Gigabit procurement will see a company contracted to provide faster, giga-bit capable broadband to over 28,000 properties in Fife and the surrounding areas. They expect to sign a contract in September and start building work in 2026.The map below shows where the broadband will be implemented:

While this development is welcome, I am also concerned about the limitations digital broadband has in rural areas where mobile phone signal is poor. This weekend past, there were multiday black outs for some properties in North East Fife. Battery packs currently available from providers last only one to two hours and therefore are not sufficient for such events.Â
In response to these events, I wrote to BT, who provides coverage for much of North East Fife, and highlighted the experience of one of my constituents who lives in a rural area to emphasise the importance of having long lasting backups in place:

I also wrote to the Minister of State for Data Protection and Telecoms to further emphasise the urgent need for better backups including longer-lasting batteries to be place:

While I hope the severity of Storm Eowyn won’t be seen again any time soon, we know that storm damage is bound to happen again in some capacity. That's why it is vital that constituents are not cut off from contacting others, including emergency services. I urge telecom providers and the Government to ensure measures are in place to prevent people being left in these circumstances again.