Wales - House of Commons committee calls for elimination of not-spots and slow-spots in broadband

The Welsh Affairs Committee of the House of Commons notes that:

the UK and Welsh Governments must work together and use all means available to bring broadband services in Wales up to speed with the rest of the UK, and eradicate broadband "slow spots" and "notspots" as a matter of urgency.

Its report on broadband in Wales sets out its views in detail.

Committee Chairman, David T.C. Davies MP, is quoted as saying:

Access to fast internet connection is essential to businesses and the economy in Wales. Broadband will become an increasingly important generator of economic success and a means of addressing social exclusion. It is hard to believe, but in mid-2012 there are still some areas of Wales where people have no connection at all. It is impossible to see how businesses or the economy can develop in these areas.

Sweden - Lessons from Sweden by Benoît Felten about fibre deployment in cities

Benoît Felten of Diffraction Analysis has published a note on Lessons from Stockholm and a more detailed paper on SSRN. .

Scotland - A document has been published on the delivery of public services under the "digital future" brand

The Scottish Government has published a document on "delivery of public services".

Scotland's Digital Future - Delivery of Public Services, jointly introduced by Scottish Ministers and COSLA, is a key part of the public service reform programme.

It signals a way in which public bodies can collaborate to ensure that services – whether at national or local level – can be truly joined up to meet the needs of the users of our public services, the citizens of Scotland.

This strategy sets out a vision for Scotland where digital technology provides a foundation for public services that meet the needs of the user – that means responsive services where organisations are working together across sectors.

It is available in PDF and a variety of more exotic file formats

Shetland - BT has announced a fibre optic link to the mainland, with 10 Gbps service for businesses in Lerwick

The Shetland Times reports BT is to invest £8 million in a fibre optic connection to Great Britain. It will use capacity on the SHEFA cable (from UK to the Faroes).

BT is also offering businesses and public agencies a new Ethernet service in Lerwick to purchase broadband speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second, vastly more than anyone currently requires.

For the rest of Shetland’s broadband users they can expect nothing faster than they currently receive, unless they live in Lerwick, where BT is promising speeds of up to 20 megabits per second.

This was announced at the Northern Isles Digital Forum.