Broadband scheme can help Ellon community get connected
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Ellon residents have been encouraged to get behind a bid to bring ultrafast full fibre broadband to more local homes and businesses in the community.
Openreach has started work on the town’s new full fibre broadband network, with the first households able to connect early next year, and is urging locals to consider pooling broadband vouchers available from the UK and Scottish Governments to help extend the build even further.
Residents who do not already have access to a 100Mbps broadband service can check if they may qualify and pledge their voucher on the Connect My Community website at www.openreach.co.uk/ellonpr
The vouchers can be combined to extend the ultrafast network to premises in outlying rural areas which will not be covered by private investment.
Openreach’s partnership director for Scotland Robert Thorburn said: “This is a really exciting opportunity for Ellon to bring full fibre infrastructure to the very hardest-to-reach local addresses.
“Because we’ve already committed to build full fibre to the majority of the town, the Scottish and UK governments are supporting this incremental approach to help us to go even further. But it’s only possible with everyone working together – you, your neighbours and Openreach.
“Everyone who pledges a voucher will be doing their bit to help make Ellon one of the best connected places in Aberdeenshire.
"Pledging couldn’t be simpler, but we need residents to act quickly – as the UK scheme closes in March 2021.”
To claim vouchers which contribute towards the cost of building the new network, residents are asked to commit to ordering a full fibre service from a provider of their choice for at least 12 months once the new network is available.
Eligible residents qualify for up to £1500 for rural homes and up to £3500 for small and medium-sized businesses under the UK Government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme – while the Scottish Government can boost the funds to eligible households by a further £5000.
The agreement between the two Governments means maximum funding of £6500 for eligible households and £8500 for qualifying businesses could be available.
Mr Thorburn added: “We’re investing £12 billion to build full fibre broadband to 20 million homes – and more than three million of those will be in the toughest third of the UK – but we can’t upgrade the whole country alone.
"This latest support from government, alongside help to remove red tape and barriers that slow down the build, is vital.”
The Scottish Government’s Connectivity Minister Paul Wheelhouse said: “Vouchers are an important part of delivering on our commitment to give every address in Scotland access to a superfast broadband connection by the end of 2021.
"It’s good to see Openreach working with communities to encourage aggregation of vouchers. This was always the plan for how Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme would work and we will continue to work with all of our registered suppliers to encourage further voucher aggregation across Scotland.”
UK Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman said: “We're committed to levelling up communities across the UK with lightning-fast gigabit broadband that will improve lives and boost the economy.
"The broadband vouchers on offer provide immediate financial help for people to get next generation speeds by covering the installation costs of companies such as Openreach. I urge people to check online if they are eligible for a broadband boost."
Full fibre technology provides more reliable, resilient and future-proof connectivity; meaning fewer faults; more predictable, consistent speeds and enough capacity to meet growing data demands.
Fibre optics – strands of glass around one-tenth the thickness of a human hair – transmit data using light signals. Fibre is smaller, lighter and more durable than copper cabling and less vulnerable to damage.
