Broadband boost for 20,000 homes
‘Long overdue’upgrade is coming to 11 areas
Thousands of homes in Perth and Kinross are set to have their broadband upgraded to full fibre.
It is part of a roll-out to reach some of the country’s hardest to serve communities.
The programme is being taken forward by Openreach and will target 11 exchange areas in Perth and Kinross Alyth, Aberfeldy, Blairgowrie, Stanley, Pitlochry, Bridge of Earn, Coupar Angus, Auchterarder, Blackford, Crieff and Kinross.
Over 20,000 homes will be impacted.
The news means fewer homes and businesses will require taxpayer subsidies to upgrade.
Economy secretary Kate Forbes welcomed the announcement, saying: “This is good news for Perth and Kinross.
“The rollout of ultrafast broadband to so many more rural communities is vitally important, especially as we focus on recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Continued commercial build is an important part of the Reaching 100 per cent Programme’s aim to provide access to superfast speeds for all premises. This focus on rural and hard-to-reach areas is exactly what I want to see and I look forward to hearing that these 20,000 addresses are connected.”
Robert Thorburn, Openreach Scotland’s strategic infrastructure director, added: “Building a new broadband network across Scotland is a massive challenge and some parts of the country will inevitably require further public funding.
“But our expanded build plan means any future taxpayer subsidies can be limited to only the hardest to connect homes and businesses. And with investments from other builders, we’d hope to see that shrink further.”
Openreach is using a range of innovations and techniques to deliver the build.
Conservative Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser said the news was “long overdue”.
He added: “Lack of broadband or poor broadband is still one of the main issues I receive complaints about from constituents, particularly in east Perthshire and Highland Perthshire.
“The Scottish Government’s flagship R (Reaching) 100 Broadband programme has been beset by delays and in April, we heard that the Northern contract of the R100 project, which includes Highland Perthshire, had been pushed back to 2026, which is just ridiculous.
“Fast, reliable broadband is badly needed now for many residents and businesses with many people continuing to work from home. There has never been a better time to roll out full fibre broadband across the country - especially to rural areas which have either been without broadband or had to suffer a very poor, slow service.”