A recent survey from bOnline has shown that many SMEs are unsure about the availability of altnet in their area, with confusion over the UK’s broadband roll-out strategy.
Tue, 23/07/2024 - 15:24
Over 57,000 Scottish properties in hard-to-reach areas now have access to Full Fibre through the Scottish Government’s £600m Reaching 100% programme.
The project, delivered alongside Openreach, has connected remote and rural properties in over 200 places in the first half of this year, from the Shetland islands of Yell and Whalsay to Stranraer and Wigtown in Dumfries and Galloway and across the Atlantic to Argyll’s Isle of Seil.
Over 5,950 households and businesses in Aberdeenshire and more than 6,500 in Scottish Borders can access fibre with the build ramping up in Moray and Stirlingshire.
The R100 build is due to start in dozens more places before the end of the year, including the Hebridean island of Mull, Westray and Rousay in Orkney and Kilchoan in the Highlands.
Katie Milligan, Openreach CCO and Chair of its Scotland Board, said: “More than a thousand people are working on the build, with three million metres of new cable installed so far this year, enough to run up and down the A9 seven times.”
Research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research last year predicted that full fibre across Scotland could add £4.5 billion to the nation’s economy by 2030.
