Maybole residents get a superfast start to spring
More than 2,000 homes and businesses in Maybole can now get connected to fibre broadband – and a special drop-in event will visit the South Ayrshire town next week to help local people find out more.
The local premises are among more than 220,000 across Scotland which can now access fibre broadband services at speeds of up to 80Mbps* as part of the £410 million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband rollout.
Fibre broadband enables multiple users in a home or business to access the internet, download and share large files at the same time more quickly than ever before. In order to take advantage of the higher speeds now available, residents should contact their service provider.
The rollout is being delivered on the ground by engineers from BT’s local network business, Openreach. With more than 850 new cabinets now installed across Scotland to house the fibre connections, the project underpins the Scottish Government’s aim of delivering world class connectivity by 2020.
Anyone in the local community who is interested in finding out how fibre broadband works and the benefits it can provide can go along to a special drop-in event at The Carrick Centre, Culzean Road, between 11.30am and 2.30pm on Friday March 27.
Representatives from South Ayrshire Council and members of the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme will also be on hand to get people up to speed with the technology and provide advice on areas such as signing up with a service provider.
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, 85 per cent of premises in Scotland will have access to fibre broadband by the end of 2015/16 and around 95 per cent by the end of 2017/18.
Councillor Bill Grant, South Ayrshire Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economic Development, Tourism and Leisure, said: “It’s really exciting to hear that so many residences in Maybole can now connect to fibre broadband. It’s good to see this project reaching more communities in our area, contributing towards the aim of connecting most of our homes and businesses to a high-speed network. This really will make a big difference and I hope as many people as possible – whether residents or businesses – take the time to come along to the Carrick Centre and discover the huge benefits fibre broadband can provide.”
Sara Budge, Programme Director for Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband, said: “It’s great news that residents and businesses in Maybole are able to receive fibre broadband thanks to the programme. The difference that fibre broadband can make is amazing, giving much more flexibility whether it’s at work or in the home. I hope that residents and businesses in Maybole come along to the event to get an understanding of the boost they can expect from a fast fibre broadband connection.”
BT is investing £126 million in the Digital Scotland programme, in addition to its commercial rollout of fibre broadband in Scotland.
Brendan Dick, BT Scotland director, said: “Hundreds of people in Maybole now have access to their best ever broadband speeds, and more will follow. As the fibre network extends across South Ayrshire, making the most of it is vital. I hope local people and businesses in the area will soon be taking advantage of all the opportunities on offer.”
Users can check the interactive map on the Digital Scotland website (http://www.digitalscotland.org/whereandwhen) to find out if they can get the service and further information is also available on Twitter @ScotSuperfast or Facebook atwww.facebook.com/scotlandsuperfast
ENDS
*These are the top wholesale speeds available to all service providers; speeds offered by service providers may vary.
While many premises in enabled areas now have access to fibre broadband, some may not be able to connect due to network topography and other technological factors. To be sure that you can get fibre broadband, check with your internet service provider.
Background
The Digital Scotland rollout consists of two projects – one covering the Highlands and Islands area and the other covering the rest of Scotland. Funding partners include the Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the UK Government through Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), local authorities and the European Regional Development Fund as well as BT.
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).
