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Thousands of homes and businesses to benefit. 

More than 90,000 homes and businesses in 18 local authority areas across Scotland will be next to get fibre broadband in the latest phase of the £410 million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme. 

Thanks to the engineering roll out by BT, which is already under way, around 55,000 homes and business now have access to fibre broadband through the Digital Scotland initiative. In total, more than three quarters of a million homes and business premises are expected to benefit. 

As a result of the latest deployment announced yesterday, during the winter people in more than 100 places across Scotland will be able to access fibre broadband services at speeds of up to 80Mbps. A full list of locations is at the end of this release.

Most of those announced – such as Macduff, Glamis, Kirkwall, Annan, Kinglassie and Portmahomack – will receive high speed technology for the first time, while others will see additional premises connected as a result of building upon their existing, or planned, fibre broadband footprint.

The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme aims to provide fibre broadband infrastructure to areas not covered by commercial deployment. Combined with commercial roll-out plans, around 95% of premises in Scotland will have access to fibre broadband by the end of 2017/18 and 85% by the end of 2015/16.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Today marks another important milestone for the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband partnership. The scale of the challenge of delivering fibre broadband across Scotland is greater than any other part of the UK and indeed, much of Europe.

“It’s fantastic news that more communities and businesses around the country will soon begin to see the benefits of high quality digital connectivity, making them more economically viable in the long term.

“However, this is not the limit of Scotland’s ambition. The Scottish Government’s aim is to deliver world class connectivity by 2020, enabling people across Scotland to connect any time, any place, anywhere using any device.”

The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband initiative consists of two projects – one covering the Highlands and Islands area and the other covering the Rest of Scotland. The first cabinets went live in March and April of this year in Buckie and Kirkton of Skene, Aberdeenshire.

The partnership programme is in addition to BT’s £2.5bn UK commercial rollout, which will bring faster fibre broadband within reach of more than 1.4 million Scottish homes and businesses, with more than 1.2 million premises already passed.

Brendan Dick, BT Scotland director, said: “The advent of fibre broadband in these latest communities will mean a major boost for local homes and businesses. With more adults working from home than ever before and more people shopping or watching TV online, yesterday’s announcement will help Scotland work and play faster.

“We’re really proud of our role at the heart of Scotland, delivering critical infrastructure which helps the nation to compete on a world stage. We could only reach the parts of Scotland that lay beyond commercial deployment by working with others, and I find it really heartening that so many of our smaller communities now stand to benefit. Our ongoing deployment of fibre across the country is one of the biggest civil engineering projects happening in Scotland today and will be to the advantage of generations to come.”

UK Government Communications Minister Ed Vaizey said: “This fantastic news marks the next stage of a remarkable transformation of broadband in Scotland which will see around 95 per cent of premises connected to fibre broadband infrastructure by 2017/18. We understand how important access to superfast broadband is, which is why the UK Government is investing more than £100m in broadband for Scotland. The widespread access to superfast broadband that our rollout will deliver will provide a tremendous boost to the Scottish economy.”

Funding partners include the Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the UK Government through Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), local authorities and the European Regional Development Fund. BT, the private sector partner selected to roll out the open access fibre network, is investing £126 million.

Locations will be announced quarterly for the life of the projects as the fibre network rolls out across Scotland. Further local detail will be provided as plans advance and anyone interested in the roll-out can keep up to date and get more detail at www.digitalscotland.org

Notes To Editors

The full list of locations being announced is as follows:

* These exchanges feature twice because they serve premises in more than one local authority area.

Notes to editors

All forward looking plans are subject to change. The expectations reflected in this forward-looking plan are reasonable, but because our rollout involves risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking plans.

Background

The Rest of Scotland project is being supported through £157.6 million public funding including £50 million from BDUK and BT’s private investment of £106.7 million. The public funding includes funding from all 27 local authorities in the project area and additional funding from 14 local authorities who are investing around £51 million to increase coverage, meet local priorities and address the digital divide in their areas.

The public sector investment in the Highlands and Islands project is £126.4m. It is being delivered through the Scottish Government broadband fund, which incorporates funding from Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), and also includes up to £12m from HIE’s own budget. BT is contributing £19.4 million in addition to its commercial investment in the region.

The Rest of Scotland project area includes the following local authority areas: Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, parts of Argyll & Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries & Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, Midlothian, North Ayrshire (apart from the Islands), North Lanarkshire, Perth & Kinross, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire, West Lothian.

The Highlands and Islands project is led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and includes the following local authority areas: Highland, Moray, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, Eilean Siar (Western Isles), parts of Argyll and Bute and part of North Ayrshire (Islands).

About BDUK

Superfast Britain is a UK 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:

• £780m to extend superfast broadband to 95% of the UK by 2017

• £150m to provide high speed broadband to businesses in 22 cities

• £150m to improve quality and coverage of mobile phone and basic data network services

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

About BT

BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in more than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of five lines of business: BT Global Services, BT Business, BT Consumer, BT Wholesale and Openreach. For the year ended 31 March 2014, BT Group’s reported revenue was £18,287m with reported profit before taxation of £2,312m. British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. For more information, visit www.btplc.com