Fibre broadband could be available by Easter
More Argyll households and businesses can now upgrade to faster fibre broadband through the £463 million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) rollout.
Across Argyll and Bute, around 35,000 homes and business can now connect to fibre broadband thanks to the DSSB programme, which is drawing to a close.
The latest homes to be connected in the villages of Kilcreggan and Luss have access to gigabit-capable full fibre networks.
Also known as Fibre-tothe-Premises or FTTP, the technology provides ultrafast broadband directly to local homes.
Across Scotland more than 950,000 premises have now been passed by the programme – with 5,078 new fibre street cabinets now live, offering broadband services at speeds up to 80Mbps1. More than 16,730km of cable has been laid – including 400km of subsea cable.
More than 67 per cent of properties reached by the programme have now switched to faster fibre broadband.
Fibre technology offers fast and reliable connections at a range of speeds and there are many suppliers in the marketplace to choose from.
Sara Budge, DSSB programme director, said: ‘Due to COVID-19, the way we work and live our lives has changed dramatically.
‘The difference that having fibre broadband can make if you are working from home is remarkable.
‘I’d urge everyone to take advantage of the faster speeds now available.
‘There’s lots of competition out there and people may find they could be surfing at much higher speeds at a similar cost to their current service, but the key is for customers to contact one or more service providers to explore the options available to them, as upgrades to customers’ broadband packages are not automatic.’
Delivered through Highlands and Islands Enterprise, funding partners also include the UK Government through Building Digital UK, BT Group, local authorities and the EU via the European Regional Development Fund, with Openreach leading the build on the ground.