Perthshire must keep pressing for vital technological tools so it does not fall behind the rest of the country, according to a business and tourism leader.
Despite BT announcing superfast broadband is arriving in Perth within a year (link), Chamber of Commerce president Stephen Leckie said he will maintain his demands for the improved service across the rest of Perthshire, as well as full mobile phone signal coverage and advanced 3G or 4G wireless signals.
Firms across the region, especially in remote areas, claim the lack of what have become basic business tools for other areas are hampering their performance.
They claim the lack of a speedy internet connection stymies the effectiveness of web-based trade and customers and tourists are often baffled by the patchy or non-existent phone signal.
Mr Leckie, who is also chair of both the Scottish Tourism Forum and Tourism Leadership Group, said his own businesses, including Crieff Hydro Hotel, have been affected.
While he welcomed Perth”s good news and said it will have a knock-on effect for the surrounding area, he said the region won”t be able to properly compete until the full package of measures is delivered.
“That”s what our customers and tourism and businesses need and want to use,” he said. “Most people have a fancy mobile phone and want to use it in 3G and there is nothing more frustrating than losing the signal when you”re driving along in the car.
“When American and European tourists visit Scotland and can”t get a signal they think they”ve hit some sort of backwater. They need the internet access or signal to find out what”s on in the area, to book things and get directions.
“The lack of these things is a complaint we get from a lot of our customers, especially when we host big conferences at the hotel. The people involved have all got smartphones or iPads and they need a mobile phone signal and 3G.
“The best I”ve found in Crieff is 6Mbps, in my own office, but after that it”s just 2Mbps.”
He said it is equally frustrating for web-based business, pointing out a quarter of Crieff Hydro”s bookings are now done online.
He said: “The value of the things we”re talking about is unquantifiable. The amount of time and money being wasted waiting for things on the web round here is horrifying.
“In my various positions I have access to the likes of John Swinney (the Scottish Government”s minister for finance, employment and sustainable development) and other politicians and officials and the four things I always ask about are faster broadband, broadband in rural areas, mobile coverage and 3G coverage.
“It”s good news for Perth that the network is being upgraded and it”s a great start because if it wasn”t coming to Perth, it would be even further away for everyone else. Cities do feed the economy of the rural areas and it can spread to the peripheries.”