02
December
2014
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23:00
Europe/London

Huntly residents get up to speed with superfast broadband at community event

Residents and small businesses in Huntly will have the chance to find out more about fibre broadband and the benefits it brings – thanks to a special event in the town on December 10.

Thousands of homes and businesses in Aberdeenshire and in Huntly are already able to take advantage of fibre broadband, with many more to follow, as part of the £410 million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme.

In Huntly, more than 1,100 homes are able to receive fibre broadband – in order to take advantage of the higher speeds now available, residents should contact their service provider.

As part of the Digital Scotland rollout, engineers from BT’s local network business, Openreach, have installed more than 2,400km of cable on the mainland to date, while hundreds of new street cabinets have gone ‘live’ for fibre on streets across the country.

Whether it’s downloading a movie in a few minutes, ‘Skyping’ with relatives or uploading files for work, fibre broadband makes it all quick, easy and seamless for those who sign up to the service.

Anyone in the local community who is interested in finding out how fibre broadband works and how to get it can go along to an information session at Stewarts Hall, Gordon Street, Huntly between 12pm – 3pm on Wednesday 10th December. Attendees will also have the opportunity to enter a free prize draw to win some Christmas goodies.

Leader of Aberdeenshire Council, Jim Gifford, said: "I'm very pleased to see this project reaching more communities in our area, contributing towards the aim of connecting most of our homes and businesses to fibre broadband. Residents should pop along to the event next week to find out more about the benefits of broadband. Improving digital connectivity for homes and businesses in Aberdeenshire is a key priority for the council and we have invested more than any other local authority in the UK to make this happen."

Brendan Dick, BT Scotland director, said: “Once the fibre network is in place, making the most of the infrastructure is vital – it brings so much opportunity for developments in education, health and other vital public services as well as skills, jobs and, of course, social use and entertainment. This is a great opportunity for local people to find out more about how they could benefit by getting connected to fibre broadband.”

Sara Budge, Programme Director for Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband, said: “Its great news that Huntly can now receive fibre broadband thanks to the programme. The difference that fibre broadband can make is amazing giving much more flexibility whether it’s a work or in the home. People should pop along to the local event so they can find out more about the benefits and the technology, or contact their service provider to sign up to the service.”

Representatives from the Scottish Government, BT and the council will be on hand to answer questions and show how access to fibre broadband can help in a range of ways from paying bills to accessing council services.

There is no need to book, just turn up to the session to find out more. For more information about the Digital Scotland rollout, visit www.digitalscotland.org, which includes a new interactive map to help users find out if they can get fibre broadband.

ENDS

Background

The Rest of Scotland project is being supported through £157.6million public funding including £50 million from BDUK and BT’s private investment of £106.7million. The public funding includes funding from all 27 local authorities in the project area and additional funding from 14 local authorities who are investing around £51 million to increase coverage, meet local priorities and address the digital divide in their areas. Coupled with the investment in the Highlands and Islands region announced earlier in the year, it brings the total investment in fibre broadband in Scotland to more than £410 million.

The Rest of Scotland project area includes the following local authority areas: Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, parts of Argyll & Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries & Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, Midlothian, North Ayrshire (apart from the Islands), North Lanarkshire, Perth & Kinross, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire, West Lothian.

The Highlands and Islands broadband project is being led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and includes the following local authority areas: Highland, Moray, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, Eilean Siar (Western Isles), parts of Argyll and Bute and part of North Ayrshire (Islands).

About BDUK

Superfast Britain is a UK Government programme of investment in broadband and communication infrastructure across the UK. Run by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, this investment helps businesses to grow, creates jobs and will make Britain more competitive in the global race. The portfolio is comprised of three elements:

  • £780m to extend superfast broadband to 95% of the UK by 2017
    • £150m to provide high speed broadband to businesses in 22 cities
    • £150m to improve quality and coverage of mobile phone and basic data network services

Administered on behalf of Government by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), Superfast Britain is transforming Britain by promoting growth, enabling skills and learning, and improving quality of life.

For further information: https://www.gov.uk/broadband-delivery-uk