Drop-in event to help residents get up to speed on broadband

Angus North and Mearns SNP MSP Mairi Gougeon is to hold a special rural broadband surgery.

The surgery has been scheduled to help her north-east constituents find out when they will be hooked up to high-speed internet.

Mrs Gougeon will host a drop-in meeting with experts from Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) and Angus Council at Brechin City Hall on February 26, from 3pm to 6pm.

Residents and business owners from across North Angus and South Aberdeenshire will be offered direct advice on their individual broadband concerns and advice on “alternative solutions”.

Financial assistance for alternative solutions – such as satellite broadband – may also be available from grants through the Better Broadband Scheme.

The Scottish Government is pledging to bring superfast broadband to 100% of homes and businesses by the end of 2021.

Mrs Gougeon said: “There has been significant progress in the roll-out of broadband since 2012.

“In Angus the figures from September 2017 showed that almost 90% of homes now have access to high-speed internet, in comparison to 69.7% in 2012.

“In Aberdeenshire, there was a jump from 25.1% in 2012 to 84.6% and progress is being made all the time.

“Across Angus North and Mearns 10,600 premises can now access fibre broadband.

“But I am also acutely aware that there are a number of people and businesses who cannot access high-speed broadband and this event will focus on what is being done for those people.

“A number of people have contacted me and I hope this event can offer, at least some of them, the chance to speak directly to DSSB about their own situation.

“It’s free and open to the public to drop in and anyone in Angus North and Mearns can attend at any point during the event.”

She said her hope for the rural surgery is that as many as possible from her constituency get the “right advice and support”.