Superfast fibre broadband arrives in Badenoch and Strathspey
Kincraig is first village to benefit from the fast technology
A tech-savvy, award-winning, village store is set to see a boost in the speed at which it can deliver its online services, as it becomes one of the first places to order super-ast fibre broadband in the Cairngorm National Park area.
Kincraig is the first local village to benefit from the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband project which is bringing fibre based services offering download speeds of up 80 Mbps* to towns and villages across the region.
Access to the new services is also coming through in Aviemore now, and more coverage will follow in the coming months in Boat of Garten, Carrbridge, Dulnain Bridge, Grantown, Kingussie, Nethybridge, Newtonmore and Tomintoul.
Project partners Highlands and Islands Enterprise and BT, were joined by Cairngorms National Park Authority’s (CNPA) representatives at Kincraig Stores to mark its arrival in the village.
At the heart of the community since the 19th Century, family run Kincraig Stores has stayed bang up to date and this year scooped the Scottish Local Retailer ‘Best Use of Technology’ award. Its website is a community hub offering online ordering, free delivery and it shares community info through its social media channels.
Calum Duncan (24), who works at Kincraig Stores with his parents Gordon and Eileen, said: “We’ve ordered the new services and the faster speeds, particularly for uploading, will make things easier for the variety of work we do digitally. As well as ordering online with our suppliers, we have spent a lot of time developing our website and social media to provide added value for the local community. We get a lot of interaction particularly through Facebook. Faster connections are such an important part of life for businesses and the community – it’s great news that it’s here in Kincraig.”
Fibre services will roll out in stages as BT Openreach engineers build the local network. In most areas it’s delivered through new green fibre cabinets. The ability to get a service and the speed received are both dependent on whether a home or business is attached to the local network, and the distance from the fibre cabinet.
Where it is available customers do have to order. For those who want to check availability, anyone can put their number or postcode into the Digital Scotland online checker www.hie.co.uk/whereandwhen Customers should speak to an internet service provider to get connected.
HIE’s Director of Digital, Stuart Robertson, commented: “It’s great to see the first services now available to order in Kincraig and in the first parts of Aviemore. We’re seeing good progress in Kingussie and we will start to see services becoming available there within weeks. We are also ahead of schedule in Newtonmore.
“The National Park is a remarkable but challenging geographical area and locals will not be surprised to hear we can hit complications when building a network of this scale. It is taking us a little longer to reach Tomintoul and Grantown than we had hoped, but we continue to work through the planning and building process. We will bring these areas through as soon as possible.”
The arrival of fibre was also welcomed by the CNPA. Willie McKenna a directly-elected Board member said: “We are highly delighted that superfast broadband is now available within areas of Badenoch and Strathspey. The roll-out of fibre broadband is a vital area of work and it is exciting to see the cabinets now being installed across the area. The availability of superfast broadband will help enhance the National Park’s status as an attractive place in which to live and do business.”
Work on the ground is being carried out by Openreach, the local network division of private sector partner BT. Funding is coming from the Scottish Government and the UK Government as well as HIE and BT.
Robert Thorburn, BT’s programme manager, commented: “It’s fantastic to see local business people like Calum explore how they add value to their business through the power of the internet. The introduction of fibre will open up even more opportunities to develop this and I look forward to seeing how homes and businesses in the area benefit from its introduction.”
Note:
*When connected premises could have direct access to download speeds of up to 80 Mbps. These are the top wholesale speeds available from Openreach to all service providers; speeds offered by service providers may vary. Speeds will also vary depending on the distance from the cabinet.
Due to the current network topography, and the economics of deployment, it is likely that some premises within selected exchange areas will not initially be able to access fibre-based broadband. Openreach is considering alternative solutions for these locations, and Community Broadband Scotland can support communities look at alternative options in the areas least likely to be reached by the roll-out.
Enquiries about this news release should be made to the BT Scotland Press Office on 0800 085 0660. All news releases can be accessed at our web site: http://www.btplc.com/News
About HIE
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is an economic and community development agency delivering the Scottish Government’s economic strategy across a region which covers more than half of Scotland.
HIE, as part of the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband project, is leading on one of the most complex fibre broadband deployment projects in the UK. We aim to deliver services to 84% of premises across the Highlands and Islands by 2016, and are working to find ways to reach the remaining 16%. As part of that we manage Community Broadband Scotland which works with communities across Scotland to help them find sustainable ways to get faster broadband.
Equally important is our work to provide specialist online and face-to-face support for businesses and communities to help them maximise the benefits of digital connectivity.
You can visit our website at http://www.hie.co.uk follow us on Twitter @HIEScotland and @HIEdigital Also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/highlandsandislandsenterprise
About BDUK
Superfast Britain is a 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:
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
