'Fastest broadband in Europe' promise for Moray and Aberdeenshire
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Parts of Moray and Aberdeenshire have been promised "some of the fastest broadband in Europe".
Openreach has today outlined plans to make full fibre broadband available to tens of thousands of homes and businesses across the north of Scotland.
The new locations include Ellon, Inverurie and Banff in Aberdeenshire.
They also include Buckie, Findochty, Buckpool, Elgin, Forres and Lossiemouth in Moray.
These are among 60 rural towns and villages which Openreach says it will upgrade without taxpayer subsidy.
Work is expected to get under way within the next 12-18 months.
However, due to the size of the build, Openreach says some places will see work continue into 2024.
Robert Thorburn, the company’s partnership director for Scotland, said: "Full fibre is more reliable and more resilient – meaning fewer faults and more predictable, consistent speeds.
"It’s also ‘future-proof’ to easily meet the growing data demands of future technologies."
A report commissioned by Openreach last year stated that connecting everyone in Scotland to full fibre broadband by 2025 would create a £5.5 billion boost to the nation’s economy.
The report also stated that 37,400 people across Scotland could be brought back into the workforce through enhanced connectivity.
Thousands more would also be able to work remotely from home for the first time.
Openreach CEO Clive Selley said: "This year we’ve all seen the importance of having a decent broadband connection.
"At Openreach, we’re convinced that full fibre technology can underpin the UK’s economic recovery.
"Right now, we’re building a new, ultra-reliable full fibre network that will boost productivity, cut commuting and carbon emissions, and connect our families, public services and businesses for decades to come.
"We’re determined to find inventive engineering solutions and effective partnership funding models to reduce costs and enable us to connect as many communities as possible across the UK without public subsidy.
"Openreach is leading the charge to help the UK Government achieve its target of making gigabit capable networks available nationwide by 2025.
"We hope that by publishing our own plans, we can help ensure that taxpayers only fund connections in communities that really need public support."
Openreach has currently built full fibre technology to more than three million premises across the UK.
More than 120,000 homes and businesses have also signed up to Openreach’s Community Fibre Partnership (CFP) programme.
A CFP sees the company work with rural communities to bring fibre broadband to areas not included in any existing private or publicly subsidised upgrade schemes.
The Scottish Government’s connectivity minister Paul Wheelhouse said: "Digital connectivity has played a vital role in supporting our efforts to keep people safe and connected during lockdown.
"It will play a pivotal role in plans for our strategic economic recovery from the pandemic, maintaining jobs and livelihoods and creating new skills and opportunities.
"This rollout of gigabit-capable full fibre broadband access enabled by Openreach to these more rural areas is welcomed.
"Commercial developments like these all play their part in giving Scotland access to superfast broadband and complement the work that the Scottish Government is doing in the Reaching 100% Programme to deliver superfast access for all."
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