MSP ‘astonished’ over broadband issue

AN affordable housing scheme in Cupar is to miss out on the ultra-fast broadband connection promised to other new residential developments.

The 49 homes being built in Cupar’s Pitscottie Road will be able to access superfast broadband, but not through the superior connection that is usually provided free of charge to new estates of that size.

Openreach, part of the BT Group, provides fibre-to-thepremises (FTTP) connection, which requires no copper cable for developments of more than 30 homes. However, it is to provide the slower fibre-tothe-cabinet (FTTC) connection for the Kingdom Housing Association site.

It blamed the date the scheme was registered, but North-East Fife MSP Willie Rennie expressed frustration.

He said: “I am astonished. To install old-fashioned and slow copper cables is incredibly short-sighted. I can just understand why it is difficult to install FTTP for existing houses because of all the reworking required, but failure to fit the modern fibre cables into new homes just seems daft.”

An Openreach spokeswoman said until November, new housing schemes needed to have 100 or more units to be eligible for free FTTP. She said: “At the time it was registered, the Pitscottie development did not qualify for free FTTP. Given that the homes are not expected to be occupied until next year, we’ve contacted the developer to further discuss the options.”