The European Commission (EC) has approved a plan to spend £3.4m of UK public funding on improving broadband access across Scotland.

The state aid measure will deliver internet availability in remote and rural areas of the country. The scheme will target the one per cent of the Scottish population that is still without broadband coverage, following a funding programme in 2004 that increased exposure to 99 per cent.

The aid plan will help the population of Scotland to gain the benefits of a competitive broadband market, said EC competition commissioner Neelie Kroes.

“I am pleased to endorse public funding that will allow residential and business users in Scotland, who still do not have access to affordable broadband services, to reap the full benefits of the knowledge-based economy," said Kroes.