28
November
2016
|
13:17
Europe/London

​Fibre boost for Inchture thanks to Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband

Summary
More than 25,700 homes and businesses in Perth and Kinross are now able to connect to high-speed fibre broadband thanks to the £410m Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme. Hotelier Stef Kelly-Barton joined the Digital Scotland team to unveil one of the new fibre street cabinets that will serve part of Inchture.

More than 25,700 homes and businesses in Perth and Kinross are now able to connect to high-speed fibre broadband thanks to the £410m Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme.

Stef Kelly-Barton, owner of Inchture Hotel, and Alasdair Bailey, Secretary of Inchture Area Community Council, joined the Digital Scotland team in Inchture to unveil one of the new fibre street cabinets that will serve part of the town. The premises are among more than 600 homes and businesses in Inchture that can now access high-speed fibre broadband.

Stef said: “The hotel has a superb position by the main road connecting Dundee to Perth. Now that we can offer superfast WiFi, we can fully capitalise on our convenient location and target business and conference trade that would otherwise remain in the city.

“Superfast broadband has already proven itself as a catalyst for business growth at our hotel. It is radically improving our customer experience and it is helping us achieve a significantly higher level of trade. As we exploit the potential of the technology still further in future, I am looking forward to exploring exciting new opportunities and building even more on this success.”

To access the latest fibre broadband technology, local people need to sign up with an internet service provider, as upgrades are not automatic.

Other nearby places to benefit from the Digital Scotland rollout, led by the Scottish Government, include Abernethy, Burrelton, Methven and Glenfarg. More local coverage will follow as engineers from Openreach, BT’s local network business, continue work on the ground.

Alasdair Bailey said "The news that most of Inchture can now get superfast broadband is great for residents who will now be able to work smarter, learn smarter and play harder. Good internet helps retain the character and vibrancy of our rural area by giving young people great opportunities to work, learn and play without the need to leave the area. The Community Council is pleased to have been able to participate in the planning and driving adoption for this new service."

Councillor John Kellas, Convener of Enterprise & Infrastructure for Perth & Kinross Council, said: “It's good to see this project reaching more communities and giving an increasing number of homes and businesses the opportunity to connect to high-speed broadband. We are determined to make sure everyone in Perth and Kinross has access to digital services and the skills and confidence to go online and use them.”

Fibre broadband offers fast and reliable broadband connections at speeds of up to 80Mbps* and there are many suppliers in the marketplace to choose from. Whether you own a business, work from home or want to keep in touch with friends and family, fibre broadband enables multiple users to connect to the internet at high speeds and get better, faster access to online services.

Sara Budge, Programme Director for Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband, said: “It’s exciting news to hear that fibre broadband is available to homes and businesses in Inchture thanks to the programme.”

BT is investing £126m in the Digital Scotland rollout.

Liz Mallinson, BT Scotland’s Fibre Broadband Director, concluded: “Thousands of residents across Perth and Kinross now have the opportunity to access their best ever broadband speeds when they sign up with a service provider. There’s lots of competition out there and people may find they could be surfing at much higher speeds at a similar cost to their current service.”

Local people need to sign up for the new services with an internet service provider, as upgrades are not automatic. People can check the interactive map on the Digital Scotland website (http://www.scotlandsuperfast.com/where-when/) to find out if they can get the service and further information is also available on Twitter @ScotSuperfast or Facebook at www.facebook.com/scotlandsuperfast

ENDS

*These are the top wholesale speeds available from Openreach to all service providers; speeds offered by service providers may vary.

Notes to editors:

Due to the current network topography and the economics of deployment, it is likely that not all premises within selected exchange areas will be able to access fibre-based broadband at the same point in the roll-out.

The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme aims to provide fibre broadband infrastructure to parts of Scotland not included in commercial providers’ investment plans. Combined with current commercial roll-out plans, the programme will deliver access to fibre broadband to around 95% of premises by the end of the current contract.

Funding partners include the Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, BT, the UK Government through Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), local authorities and the European Regional Development Fund.