Councils and public sector bodies in the south of Scotland have joined forces to apply for funding that will be used to support the rollout of fibre optic broadband.

According to BBC News, the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway local authorities have teamed up with NHS boards and Scottish Enterprise to form the South of Scotland Alliance (Sosa) and submit the bid to the country's government.

The project is aiming to close the digital divide between Scotland and the rest of Britain, as estimates have shown less than 25 per cent of Scotland is set to be covered by the UK-wide deployment of next-generation broadband.

Ivor Hyslop, leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council and joint chairman of Sosa, said it is important the area has the same level of super-fast connectivity as the rest of the country.

This would help to boost economic regeneration, drive public sector efficiency and aid community development, he claimed.

Both councils involved in the initiative will be presented with reports on August 25th 2011 detailing the financial commitments required in each area to achieve the goals laid out in the project.

Research published earlier this month by Ofcom revealed Scotland still has some way to go to catch up with the rest of the UK with regards to its current levels of broadband provision.

Some 61 per cent of homes north of the border are connected to broadband, compared with 74 per cent across Britain as a whole, the study discovered. Take-up is particularly low in Greater Glasgow, where only 50 per cent of households have broadband access.

Vicki Nash, director of Ofcom Scotland, said: "With an ever-increasing range of public services available online and the importance of the digital economy, there is a risk of Scotland being left behind."

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16th August 2011

You know why this is so? Because the infrastructure is outdated and unstable, i live in the North of Glasgow and my line speed is 3.2meg BUT when on test i get variables of 1.2 meg to 3 meg up to 68% slower than the UKS average and worst still is my Pingtest or data packet, its graded D-F (A is best) , jeez, are you sure Scotlands in the developed world???