Scotland commits £36m to extend Openreach contract

Fri, 19/08/2022 - 16:07
Openreach Scotland Partnership Director Robert Thorburn.

More rural homes and businesses in Scotland will be able to access fibre following a £36m expansion of its Reaching 100% (R100) contracts.

The extension with delivery partner Openreach will see another 2,637 rural properties across Scotland able to access fibre.

Contracts for both the North Lot and South Lot are being extended with this new R100 investment. 

The UK Government’s Project Gigabit will fund £16m of this additional investment and The Scottish Government will invest a further £20m

“Our R100 programme is going further, and providing faster broadband, than originally envisaged, said Business Minister Ivan McKee.

“This takes time and significant investment, but we are fully committed to ensuring that as many people as possible are able to enjoy the advantages of fibre.”

“Connecting these properties one by one is one of the biggest broadband challenges in Europe,” added Openreach Scotland Partnership Director Robert Thorburn.

“To make the most efficient use of resources, we’ll align the R100 build with our own rural investment. This will help us to get engineers and equipment to the most remote places, where they’re needed.”