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R100 evaluation - digital infrastructure or inclusion?
I'm just catching up on the recently published R100 interim evaluation report and it's clear it's heading towards being an infrastructure success but not yet a full inclusion success...
Scotland’s R100 programme is rightly recognised as a major infrastructure achievement. Extending superfast broadband to some of the hardest-to-reach communities is no small task and the investment is already delivering real benefits.
But the interim evaluation highlights a more uncomfortable truth: the benefits of R100 are conditional.
They accrue primarily to those who are aware of the programme, can afford to take up a connection and have the confidence and skills to navigate increasingly digital systems. For others, improved infrastructure alone is not enough.
The lack of awareness is striking: over 85% of voucher-eligible households and were unaware of R100. 81% of eligible businesses were also unaware of the programme.
The evaluation is explicit that:
- Wellbeing and economic benefits do not extend to households that do not take up connections.
- Cost, device affordability and complex processes remain major barriers.
- Older people, disabled people and low-income households are at greater risk of being left behind.
- As digital services become the default, excluded groups risk becoming more marginalised, not less.
One of the most important findings is what works.
The report points to the need for targeted, accessible communication delivered through trusted local intermediaries such as schools, libraries and community groups. In other words, digital inclusion happens through people and relationships, not just cables and cabinets.
R100 may well succeed in reaching 100% of premises. Whether it succeeds in reaching 100% of people depends on what comes next.
If digital connectivity is now essential infrastructure, then digital inclusion must be treated as essential public service delivery, not a secondary outcome.
Infrastructure enables inclusion. It does not guarantee it.
