Mobile broadband provider 3 is set to invest up to £40 million expanding its network north of the border, it has been claimed.

Kevin Russell, the firm's Chief Executive, said it would be doubling the number of masts in Scotland to more than 1,400 next month.

He told the Scotsman that 3 is spending 37 per cent more per head in the country than in England, as it bids to meet market demand for dongle services.

"We believe 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," Mr Russell said.

"The take-up of internet services in Scotland lags the UK, with some calculations that 60 per cent of people in Scotland don't access the internet."

He claimed that a lack of broadcast equipment has previously been to blame for the low broadband adoption rates.

3's Mobile Broadband Bus visited Glasgow on August 23rd to outline the benefits mobile broadband can offer to consumers.