12
November
2015
|
13:48
Europe/London

More homes across Outer Hebrides set for fibre broadband boost

Summary
The roll-out of fibre based broadband on the Outer Hebrides is reaching out further to Harris, Scalpay and North Uist over the next six months.

The roll-out of fibre based broadband on the Outer Hebrides is reaching out further to Harris, Scalpay and North Uist over the next six months.

The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) project is progressing ahead of schedule with households and businesses in parts of Back and Barvas already able to order the new high speed services and parts of Point and Shawbost due to be included within weeks.

Work will continue in these areas and the partnership project being led for the region by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) will reach more communities between now and the Spring, including Ness, Callanish, Leverburgh, Lochmaddy and Scalpay.(See full list below)

This stage will make the new fibre network available to a further 2,000 homes and businesses to the new network.

Stuart Robertson, Director of Digital at HIE, said: “People have been quick to embrace the arrival of fibre based broadband in the Stornoway area. It’s great that we are pushing ahead of schedule to reach other areas of the islands.”

Fibre broadband enables multiple users in a home or business to access the internet, download and share large files at the same time at download speeds of up to 80 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 20 Mbps*. As the higher speeds become available, anyone interested in signing up for fibre-based services should contact their broadband service provider.

Brendan Dick, BT Scotland director, said: “The Digital Scotland rollout has now passed more than half the homes and business premises currently included in our plans for the Highlands and Islands and it’s fantastic that our engineers are now reaching into some very small, rural communities, which have so much to gain.

“We’ll continue to work hard to maintain the great progress to date and bring fast fibre to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.

“BT is determined to make sure that Scotland remains at the forefront of the high-speed digital revolution. We’re proud to be working hand in hand with our partners to deliver a truly Digital Scotland. Everyone can keep up to speed with the latest developments at www.hie.co.uk/whereandwhen .”

Further information is also available on Twitter @HIEdigital

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. Cabinets also may be delivered at different times.

Our deployment plans are subject to change. The expectations reflected in this plan are reasonable, but because our rollout involves risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ from those expressed or implied.

Areas being announced: Outer Hebrides – work is happening in the following areas -

Balallan, Berneray, Borve, Callanish, Carloway, Crossbost, Garrabost (Point), Harris (Tarbert), Leverburgh, Lochmaddy, North Tolsta, Port Of Ness (Ness), Scalpay,Shawbost