Broadband work will bring city up to speed
Work aimed at moving Stirling out of the broadband ‘slow lane’ is due to start within weeks.
Council officials say the authority is investing in the installation of new apparatus designed to significantly improve internet use.
The statement came after a survey by the consumer magazine Which? found that Stirling had one of the slowest speeds in the country.
Data showed that the average broadband speed was just 9.8Mbps – below the minimum recommended speed of 10Mbps
Responding to the survey, council finance convener Margaret Brisley said: “Stirling Council is moving forward rapidly with its mission to make sure all areas of Stirling enjoy high quality broadband.
“We are also investing in a city-wide high speed fibre installation which will make Stirling Scotland’s fourth Gigabit City.
“This work starts in July and will support economic growth and inward investment across the area.
“It also lays the foundation for the City Region Deal’s Digital District project by creating world class digital connectivity.”
It’s hoped the Gigabit City aspiration will bring full fibre infrastructure and unlimited bandwidth, vastly improving broadband speeds.
She added: “There are a number of challenges associated with providing broadband connectivity in the rural and remote locations across Scotland, and Stirling is no different.
“Stirling Council is proactively supporting a number of communitybased projects that will help deliver high speed broadband in those areas.
“We are working with communities to look at alternative options, and then to identify and deliver solutions to overcome some of the challenges faced.
“Any community groups, businesses and individuals who would like advice about this are encouraged to contact Stirling Council directly.”
Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands and Highland are rated as the worst areas in the UK for broadband speeds. Orkney recorded the slowest average download speed at just 6.3Mpbs.
Stirling’s broadband speed was rated as ‘low’. Neighbouring Clackmannanshire recorded an average speed of 16.7Mbps whilst Falkirk had an average of 20Mbps.
Nationally, Tamworth in Staffordshire recorded the highest average speed at 30.4Mpbs.
Stirling’s average broadband speed was calculated from almost 1,500 tests.
Which? managing director of Home Services, Alex Neill, said: “Far too many households across the UK are suffering from slow broadband speeds, which can stop you being able to carry out essential daily tasks.
“We are encouraging everyone with broadband to use our speed checker so people can see if they are getting the speeds that they’ve been promised by their provider and find out how to complain if their speed is too slow.”
“This will also help to further highlight where problem areas are across the UK, putting pressure on government and providers to help everyone get a good broadband connection.”
A spokesman for BT Openreach said: “Like Which?, we’d encourage people to check whether faster broadband services are available in their area, because around 90 per cent of Scotland can order superfast speeds today at 24Mbps+ and over 94 per cent can access a service faster than 10Mbps.
“Openreach has invested billions of pounds to improve UK broadband speeds in recent years and we’re continuing to extend our fibre network, which means faster services are increasingly available in some of country’s most remote and hard-toserve areas.”