Scotland to Require Gigabit Broadband for Almost All New Homes from 2025

The Scottish Government has finally caught up with similar legislation in England (here and here), which was introduced at the end of 2022, by effectively mandating that property developers must ensure their new build homes are constructed with support for gigabit-capable broadband connections. This will become effective from 1st January 2025.

At present every new building and building unit in Scotland must already be designed and constructed in such a way that a “high-speed ready” (30Mbps+) in-building physical infrastructure, up to a network termination point, is provided. In the case of a building which contains more than one building unit, a common access point for high-speed electronic communications networks must be provided.

The new rules go further than that by amending Scotland’s existing Building Regulations to ensure that all new build homes are equipped with gigabit-capable (1Gbps+) infrastructure from the outset, with a connection available subject to a cost cap (£2,000). Failing that, the developer would need to install the “next fastest broadband connection” possible, also within the same cost cap.

However, in cases where a connection cannot be provided within the cost cap (e.g. in some remote rural areas or individual private house builds, where it might not be economically viable), there will be a requirement to install the passive infrastructure (e.g. cable ducts) required to facilitate a connection at a later date (i.e. much the same as the pre-existing policy).

Richard Lochhead, Business Minister, said:

“Connectivity is no longer a luxury, but an essential part of everyday life enabling remote working, access to public services, education, and health.

That’s why the Scottish Government is using its powers to reduce the barriers to accessing faster broadband so Scotland’s people and businesses can make the most of the opportunities connectivity brings.”

The reality here is that the vast majority of new build homes – both in Scotland and across the UK (about 98% were getting FTTP when last we checked) – are already being constructed with support for gigabit-capable broadband and so, in that sense, the new legislation isn’t likely to have a massive impact. But better late than never.

Naturally, changes like this will help to support the wider £5bn Project Gigabit programme, which is aiming to help extend gigabit coverage to at least 85% of UK premises by 2025 and then around 99% “nationwide” by 2030. Most of the build is being done by commercial operators, with projects like this and Scotland’s £600m R100 scheme focusing on the hardest to reach final 10-20% of premises (primarily rural areas).