Scots cities in line for broadband improvements
Residents in Edinburgh and Glasgow will be among the first in the UK to try out new “ultrafast” broadband technology, BT has said.
The communications giant’s local network business Openreach has named the two Scottish cities as pilot locations for the G.fast technology it is developing - which it says can provide download speeds of up to 330 megabits per second, more than ten times the UK average. Openreach said it plans to make G.fast available to ten million UK homes by the end of 2020.
Connectivity minister Fergus Ewing said: “We want Scotland to become a worldclass digital nation.
“A key part of this is futureproofing our digital infrastructure and that is why we have committed to providing superfast broadband to 100 per cent of premises in Scotland by 2021.
“Commercial investment will play a huge part in delivering this commitment and I welcome BT’S announcement that Edinburgh and Glasgow will be among the first in the UK to benefit from new ultrafast broadband technology.”
Under the pilot scheme, thousands of premises in both cities will be given access to the technology next year. Details of the premises involved will be confirmed later.
Clive Selley, chief executive of Openreach, said: “It’s great news that parts of Edinburgh and Glasgow will be among the first locations to get ultrafast speeds using G.fast technology in the UK.
“More people will now be able to enjoy an affordable ultrafast service in the fastest possible time.
“Through co-operation from both local and national government, we’ve been able to make this possible.”
There will be 15 other pilot areas elsewhere in the UK, meaning a total of about 140,000 homes and businesses will try out the technology in 2017.