‘Two-speed’ Scotland: Patterns and Implications of the Digital Divide in Contemporary Scotland

Abstract

Digital communication is a routine element of everyday life. Well-established communications technologies such as telephones and televisions have been joined, more recently, by widespread use of mobile telecommunications and by digital connectivity associated with the Internet. The use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) relies upon a digital infrastructure comprising telecommunications masts, cables, exchanges and satellites. ICT infrastructure provision is uneven across the UK, resulting in an urban-rural digital divide. In this paper, we present an analysis of the most recent mobile telecommunications and broadband infrastructure data published by Ofcom, the UK telecommunications regulator. Similarities and stark differences between urban, accessible rural and remote rural areas of Scotland are identified. Our analysis demonstrates that there is, in digital communications terms, a 'two-speed' Scotland where (most) urban areas are in the digital fast lane and (most) rural areas are in the digital slow lane. Implications of this geographical digital divide for individuals who live in, and businesses that operate within, rural areas are considered. The findings, though based on an analysis of Scottish data, have relevance in a broader UK context and in Europe, North America and Australasia where an urban-rural digital divide also exists.

Local Geographies of Digital Inequality

“…Others (e.g., Philip et al, 2015;Salemink, Strijker, & Bosworth, 2015;Townsend et al, 2013) argue that the challenges of connecting rural communities to the Internet are due to a combination of factors, including the technological difficulties of deploying broadband away from population centers, the cost of providing digital infrastructure to sparse populations in remote areas, and the demographic characteristics of the rural population which influence levels of Internet use. The results in Table 2 suggest that the demographic factors are the most important factor.…”

“…Several articles argue that lack of broadband in rural areas is a significant problem (Ashmore, Farrington, & Skerrat, 2015;Philip, Cottrill, & Farrington, 2015;Philip, Cottrill, Farrington, Williams, & Ashmore, 2017;Townsend et al, 2013), but this research is based on a correlation: Rural areas have less broadband access and lower rates of Internet use. The problem is the lack of multivariate analysis.…”

‘Digital by Default’ and the ‘hard to reach’: Exploring solutions to digital exclusion in remote rural areas

“…overlooked Philip et al, 2015). This section considers the barriers to digital inclusion and draws attention to place attributes, intertwined with digital infrastructure provision and economics, as reasons for a lack of engagement with digital activities.…”

Evaluating New Digital Technologies Through a Framework of Resilience

“…Whilst rural communities are embedded in multi-scale technological systems, they also experience patchy connectivity, including what are referred to as 'not spots' and can receive considerably lower speeds and quality of broadband Internet than urban areas (Skerratt 2010;Farrington et al 2013;Philip et al 2015). Rural geographers have highlighted rural-urban divides (Puel et al 2007;Basu & Chakraborty 2011) and community aspects of rural connectivity and ICTs (Warren 2007;Skerratt 2010) whilst elsewhere the 'embeddedness of ICT use in the geography of people's daily lives' (Gilbert et al 2008, p. 912;Couclelis 2009) has been stressed.…”