3 Invest £38.2 Million for Mobile Broadband in Scotland
Telecommunications giant Three (Hutchison 3G UK Limited) has confirmed that it is
investing a substantial 38.2 million to expand its mobile broadband operations and network in Scotland.
This huge investment will mean that the number of 3G masts in Scotland will more than double to over 1,400 by the end of October 2010. This is a 37% spend per head increase than in England.
The increase in spend per head is likely to relate to the fact that Scotland is much more mountainous and it will be a lot harder to attain a greater coverage, hence the higher costs involved.
Kevin Russell, CEO of 3 said that "the Scottish expansion is worth it because the demand for people to access the Internet through mobile broadband is greater in Scotland than in many other parts of the UK."
Russell went on to speculate that "the take-up of Internet services in Scotland lags the UK, with some calculations that 60% of people in Scotland don't access the Internet." The move in making 3's service more desirable should close the gap in for non-Internet users
3's boss also said that if the Scottish outlay produced the customer increases hoped for, it could mean that more jobs will be created in Scotland by the Hong Kong owned company. 3 currently has 450 employees in a call centre in Glasgow and another 200 in its 33 shops in Scotland.
"This may well increase. The more successful we are in taking customers into the expanded mobile broadband network the more need there will be for retail and call centre expertise. It is an interesting time," said Russell.
3 Invest 38.2 Million for Mobile Broadband in Scotland