Latest phase of roll-out programme runs from Hopeman to Kirkcudbright
Announcement welcomed by Scottish Government
AROUND 113,000 more Scottish homes and businesses will have access to faster broadband by the Spring of next year, BT announced today.
Twenty-two communities ranging from Hopeman in the north to Kirkcudbright in the south are among the latest in Scotland to be included in the roll-out plans for BT’s next generation copper broadband service. A full list of locations is below.
The BT investment makes available broadband speeds of up to 20 megabits per second (Mbps) – more than double the maximum speeds previously available to the majority of UK homes and businesses.
By the spring of next year almost 1.4 million Scottish lines are expected to have been upgraded.The new next-generation broadband network is available on an open, wholesale basis to all internet services providers.
This investment is in addition to the £2.5 billion BT roll-out of super-fast fibre-based broadband, which is expected to bring even faster speeds to two-thirds of UK premises by the end of 2015.
Brendan Dick, BT Scotland director, said: “Our latest investment in Scotland marks another major milestone in the development of the nation’s communications.
“It will deliver an important benefit for local businesses and homeworkers, helping to boost their efficiency and competitiveness, while households can make use of the many additional educational and entertainment benefits available with faster broadband.
“But these investments are by no means the full extent of our ambition. There are areas – mainly rural, less populated ones – where the private and public sectors will need to work together to make faster broadband available.
“We welcome the fact that the UK government has recently allocated funding of £68.8 million for next generation broadband and are very willing to work with the public sector to find solutions for these more challenging areas.
“BT has the strength and commitment to deliver large-scale broadband projects and we want to play a leading role in bringing faster technologies to our rural communities.”
Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment, Alex Neil, said: “Today’s announcement by BT is welcome. It is helping to improving broadband access for businesses and communities across the country.
“Clearly, the private sector has an important role to play in helping us deliver our vision. We are committed to putting in place a communications network that will bring benefits to Scotland’s economy and communities.”
ENDS
The 22 exchange areas announced today for upgrade are:
ABERDEEN DYCE
BIELDSIDE
BLAIRGOWRIE
BUCKIE
CASTLE DOUGLAS
CRIEFF
DUMFRIES
FRASERBURGH
GLENROTHES NORTH
GLENROTHES
HOPEMAN
KILBARCHAN
KINROSS
KIRKCUDBRIGHT
LEVEN
MAYBOLE
MILNGAVIE
MONIFIETH
MORNINGSIDE
NAIRN
PEEBLES
STONEHAVEN
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Contact: BT Scotland press office
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Website: http://www.btplc.com/news
