A CONSORTIUM of research partners could pave the way for better connectivity in remote and rural areas by creating a new commercial model for delivering critical telecoms infrastructure.
Censis – Scotland’s innovation centre for sensing, imaging, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies – the Scotland 5G Centre, and Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) have received Scottish Government funding to develop an economic model that could redefine the assessments behind infrastructure deployment, putting the potential value to communities over cost. Their new approach, in support of Moray’s regional growth deal, will aim to address the “digital divide” between areas with access to fast, reliable telecommunications – typically large population centres – and communities that have limited access to increasingly vital public services, many of which are in rural Scotland.
A feasibility study will draw on a much wider range of factors to determine the overall viability of network infrastructure, rather than relying purely on the number of people in a given area.
Although the project’s main geographical focus will be Moray, it will also examine how the same model might be applied to rural and remote areas in the south of Scotland.
Censis CEO Paul Winstanley said: “We are aiming to change the way we assess the viability of proposed telecommunications infrastructure, to the benefit of currently under-serviced communities.
“On the back of the pandemic we have seen huge growth in access to services being delivered remotely.
“As a consequence of a lack of connectivity, people in rural areas don’t have that opportunity and this project could be the foundation of addressing that imbalance in the long term.”
Paul Coffey, CEO of the Scotland 5G Centre, said: “The pandemic has highlighted the critical importance of digital connectivity; and that need is particularly evident in the healthcare sector.
“The centre’s role is to support equitable access across Scotland because we believe that wireless connectivity needs to be as readily available as our electricity and water supplies.”
George Crooks, CEO of DHI, added: “This project will demonstrate how the evolution in telecommunications technologies can be best leveraged in support of securing community resilience.”
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