Fibre makes Inverness one of UK’s best-connected cities

Sir, – In 2016 I set up the Gigabit City Steering Group, made up of the council, chambers of commerce and businesses with a challenge to make Inverness one of the UK’s best-connected cities. Today I am delighted that after four years of build, and a £24.5 million investment from CityFibre, we have reached that goal.

The Gigabit City Steering Group were clear in our intention to bring together commercial and public interests to ensure that the people and businesses of our city, and the region beyond, would be able to benefit from a truly future-proofed digital infrastructure platform.

From increased productivity and innovation to better-served public services, including schools and health centres, full fibre is the gold standard of connectivity – but it’s more than just better, faster and more reliable broadband. Full fibre is the foundation for growth and success that the people and businesses of Inverness can build upon for generations to come.

Now the network build has been successfully completed and is live across over 28,000 homes, it will continue to underpin Inverness’ continued development as one of Europe’s fastest growing cities. This infrastructure sits at the centre of a future-looking Inverness and is expected to generate significant economic, social and environmental benefits.

Reports estimate that these include over £100m in productivity and innovation gains and £22m from a widened workforce over a 15-year period. Enabling 5G rollout alone could drive up to £238m in positive economic impact.

In the four years since the rollout began, dozens of jobs have been created and, by keeping collaboration at the heart of the project, the rollout has been delivered with the minimal amount of disruption possible.

The council, chamber of commerce and the community themselves have all played their part in supporting and enabling this critical work to complete so quickly.

Inverness and the wider

Highland region is known for its entrepreneurial spark. This next generation of technology will unleash a new era of creativity and innovation, and we look forward to seeing this reputation grow in the years to come.

With this digital foundation in place, it is up to all of us to take advantage of what this network offers. With gigabit speeds and unparalleled reliability, Inverness’ full fibre network puts it on an even footing with the best-connected cities on the planet.

I am immensely proud of all we have achieved to reach this goal and look forward to seeing the city and region beyond thrive in this digital future.

Drew Hendry MP. Beechwood Business Park, Inverness.

CityFibre has spent £24.5 million in the past four years.