19
April
2015
|
23:00
Europe/London

Thousands more Scottish homes set for a superfast broadband boost

Up to 145,000 homes and businesses across Scotland will be next to benefit from the arrival of high-speed fibre broadband in the latest phase of the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme.

Since the £410 million roll-out began last year, over 3,400 km of fibre cable has been laid across Scotland with more than 275,000 homes and business now able to connect to fibre broadband thanks to the partnership, and in addition to commercial deployments by the private sector.

The partnership, which is celebrating the first anniversary of the start of the deployment this month, announced today (20 April) that fibre broadband will be rolled out in another 200-plus locations across the country as engineers from BT’s local network business, Openreach, continue work on the ground.

The first connections in the latest locations are expected to start to go live this Autumn. [A full list is available at the end of this release.]

The project is reaching further into more rural areas, with places including Braemar in Aberdeenshire, Portpatrick in Dumfries and Galloway as well as Voe in the Shetland Islands all set to have fibre available to them for the first time. It will also start to deliver fibre to communities in Edinburgh and West Lothian, North Ayrshire and the Falkirk area, which are benefiting from the Digital Scotland project for the first time.

Some homes and businesses will be served after additional engineering work on so-called ‘exchange only’ lines which run directly from the exchange to households and businesses – bypassing the usual road-side cabinets which are integral to the fibre rollout.

Engineers will rearrange the existing network and lay hundreds of metres of cable to reroute these lines through new road-side cabinets. Once this work is complete, local people in places including Kingussie in Highland; Lumphananin in Aberdeenshire; Creetown in Dumfries and Galloway; and Dunure in South Ayrshire will be among those able to access download speeds of up to 80 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 20 Mbps* through their chosen service providers.

Fibre broadband enables multiple users in a home or business to access the internet, download and share large files at the same time and more quickly than ever before. As the higher speeds become available, anyone interested in signing up for fibre-based services should contact their broadband service provider.

Sara Budge, Programme Director for Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband, said: “It is great to be celebrating the first year of deployment of the £410M Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme, while announcing that more exchanges will be included, with areas such as Portpatrick in the south of Scotland and as far north as Voe in the Shetland Islands being able to connect to fibre broadband for the first time.

“The project is developing a high speed fibre network which is changing the face of broadband. By reaching out to those who would not have been covered through the commercial market – in towns and into some of our most rural areas – we are ensuring that the connections which are made will bring many benefits to the Scottish people at home and in business.”

The Digital Scotland rollout consists of two projects. One is led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) for its region and the other covers the rest of Scotland.

Stuart Robertson, HIE Director of Digital Highlands and Islands, said: “With the first fibre broadband services now available to order in Orkney and Shetland it’s great that the roll-out is continuing for more of the islands’ communities. Also, over the next six months we will see coverage stretch further into the Badenoch and Strathspey area – in Kingussie we are building four new fibre cabinets which could reach more than 800 local homes and businesses.”

Brendan Dick, director of BT Scotland, said: “The rollout of fibre broadband across Scotland is one of the biggest and most complex civil engineering projects taking place in the UK today and we’re proud to be at the heart of it. It’s great to be announcing so many new locations this week as we celebrate our first, full year of deployment.

“In any project on this scale plans can change as engineering work progresses, for a variety of reasons. It’s important people understand that our plans aren’t set in stone but give the best possible forward view of where we expect to go next with the rollout.

“The website at www.digitalscotland.org/whereandwhen is updated frequently and is an excellent source of information as people can check the latest details based on their own postcodes. I’d also encourage people to register online for updates when there’s news for their postcode area, such as when fibre broadband becomes available.”

Further information is also available on Twitter @ScotSuperfast or Facebook atwww.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. Further announcements will be made as more areas are able to access the growing fibre infrastructure.

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: * These exchanges feature twice because they serve premises in more than one local authority area. ** Infill is where the project is providing additional fibre broadband coverage in areas which already have existing or planned fibre coverage.


ExchangeLocal AuthorityInfill?**BraemarAberdeenshireColliestonAberdeenshireCornhillAberdeenshireFettercairnAberdeenshireHillside*AberdeenshireInverbervieAberdeenshireKincardine O'NeilAberdeenshireLaurencekirkAberdeenshireLongsideAberdeenshireLumphananAberdeenshireMaudAberdeenshireMemsieAberdeenshireMonymuskAberdeenshireNew AberdourAberdeenshireNew DeerAberdeenshireNew PitsligoAberdeenshirePitcapleAberdeenshireRoseheartyAberdeenshireSt.CyrusAberdeenshireStrichenAberdeenshireMontrose*AberdeenshireYesCarmyllieAngusCarnoustieAngusYesDundee FairmuirAngusYesFriockheimAngusGowanbankAngusHillside*AngusInverkeilorAngusKellasAngusMontrose*AngusYesMuirhead*AngusNewtyleAngusCampbeltownArgyll and ButeYesClynderArgyll and ButeDunoonArgyll and ButeYesGarelocheadArgyll and ButeHelensburghArgyll and ButeYesKilcregganArgyll and ButeRhuArgyll and ButeRothesayArgyll and ButeYesColintonCity of EdinburghCorstorphineCity of EdinburghYesCraiglockhartCity of EdinburghYesDavidson's MainsCity of EdinburghYesDeanCity of EdinburghYesDonaldsonCity of EdinburghYesFairmileheadCity of EdinburghYesFountainbridgeCity of EdinburghYesKirkliston*City of EdinburghMayburyCity of EdinburghYesMorningsideCity of EdinburghYesPentlandCity of EdinburghRose StreetCity of EdinburghWaverleyCity of EdinburghYesWester HailesCity of EdinburghYesCairnryanDumfries and GallowayCreetownDumfries and GallowayGlencapleDumfries and GallowayLiddesdaleDumfries and GallowayPortpatrickDumfries and GallowaySorbieDumfries and GallowayBroughty FerryDundee CityYesClaverhouseDundee CityYesDundee BaxterDundee CityYesDundee Fairmuir*Dundee CityYesDundee LocheeDundee CityMuirhead*Dundee CityDarvelEast AyrshireYesGalstonEast AyrshireKilmarnockEast AyrshireYesOchiltreeEast AyrshireStewartonEast AyrshireYesBlanefield*East DunbartonshireAberladyEast LothianAthelstanefordEast LothianMorebattleEast LothianNorth BerwickEast LothianBarrhead*East RenfrewshireYesEagleshamEast RenfrewshirePolmontFalkirkBoarhillsFifeColinsburghFifeCrailFifeElieFifeLetham (Fife)*FifeLevenFifeYesSt. MonansFifeStrathkinnessFifeUpper LargoFifeCranhillGlasgow CityYesGlasgow Barrhead*Glasgow CityYesPollokGlasgow CityYesRenfrew*Glasgow CityYesShettlestonGlasgow CityYesSouthGlasgow CityYesArdgayHighlandArdgourHighlandBoat Of GartenHighlandBroraHighlandCarrbridgeHighlandCastletownHighlandDulnain BridgeHighlandEddertonHighlandGrantown on SpeyHighlandHalkirkHighlandHelmsdaleHighlandInvergarryHighlandKincraigHighlandKingussieHighlandKinlochlevenHighlandLairgHighlandLybsterHighlandNethybridgeHighlandRogartHighlandStrontianHighlandThrumsterHighlandTomatinHighlandWattenHighlandGourockInverclydeYesGreenockInverclydeYesPort Glasgow HarelawInverclydePort Glasgow NewarkInverclydeWemyss BayInverclydeBrodieMorayYesBeithNorth AyrshireYesDalryNorth AyrshireYesIrvineNorth AyrshireYesKilbirnieNorth AyrshireYesLargsNorth AyrshireStanecastleNorth AyrshireYesAirdrieNorth LanarkshireYesBellshillNorth LanarkshireYesCaldercruixNorth LanarkshireCambusnethanNorth LanarkshireYesClelandNorth LanarkshireCoatbridge*North LanarkshireYesFauldhouse*North LanarkshireGlenboigNorth LanarkshireYesHarthill*North LanarkshireHolytownNorth LanarkshireYesMotherwellNorth LanarkshireYesSalsburghNorth LanarkshireShottsNorth LanarkshireWishaw*North LanarkshireYesBirsayOrkney IslandsOrphirOrkney IslandsSandwick; OrkneyOrkney IslandsStromnessOrkney IslandsyesWestrayOrkney IslandsAberfeldyPerth and KinrossAbernethyPerth and KinrossDunningPerth and KinrossMuthillPerth and KinrossPitlochryPerth and KinrossRaitPerth and KinrossStrathardlePerth and KinrossStrathtayPerth and KinrossBishoptonRenfrewshireLochwinnochRenfrewshireRenfrew*RenfrewshireYesThornly ParkRenfrewshireYesAncrumScottish BordersCockburnspathScottish BordersColdinghamScottish BordersDenholmScottish BordersEddlestonScottish BordersHawickScottish BordersYesSwintonScottish BordersBraeShetland IslandsCunningsburghShetland IslandsYesGottShetland IslandsHamnavoeShetland IslandsLerwickShetland IslandsYesSandwick; ShetlandShetland IslandsScallowayShetland IslandsSkellisterShetland IslandsSullom VoeShetland IslandsSumburghShetland IslandsYesVidlinShetland IslandsVoeShetland IslandsWallsShetland IslandsWeisdaleShetland IslandsDrybridgeSouth AyrshireDunureSouth AyrshireKirkmichaelSouth AyrshireSymingtonSouth AyrshireTroonSouth AyrshireYesBothwellSouth LanarkshireYesChapeltonSouth LanarkshireCoalburnSouth LanarkshireCrawfordSouth LanarkshireDouglasSouth LanarkshireHamiltonSouth LanarkshireYesLarkhallSouth LanarkshireYesStrathavenSouth LanarkshireYesFauldhouse*South LanarkshireWishaw*South LanarkshireYesBalfronStirlingBlanefield*StirlingBuchlyvieStirlingDrymenStirlingFintryStirlingKillearnStirlingLochearnheadStirlingStrathyreStirlingThornhillStirlingAlexandriaWest DunbartonshireYesDumbartonWest DunbartonshireYesDuntocherWest DunbartonshireYesArmadaleWest LothianYesBathgateWest LothianYesFauldhouse*West LothianHarthill*West LothianKirkliston*West LothianStoneyburnWest LothianWhitburnWest LothianYes

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