Scotland closer fibre broadband goal
Government hails 'digital landmark'
More than 95% of homes and businesses in Scotland can now access fibre broadband, according to a digital broadband programme.
The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) scheme says that combined with commercial coverage it has exceeded its target.
The latest verified data shows that 95.5% of Scotland now has access to high-speed fibre broadband and 92.7% of Scottish homes and businesses can receive a superfast speed of over 24Mbps.
The programme is led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and the Scottish Government in the rest of Scotland.
92.7% of Scottish homes and businesses can receive a superfast speed of over 24Mbps.
Communities such as Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway can now access fibre broadband.
Funders also include the UK Government through Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), BT Group, local authorities and the EU via the European Regional Development Fund.
Connectivity Secretary Fergus Ewing said: “Fast and reliable internet is fundamental for the future economic and social success of communities right across Scotland.
“This is a landmark for the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme, which has connected around 890,000 premises to fibre broadband, and is ensuring Scotland can offer world-class digital infrastructure. Without the DSSB programme only 66% of Scotland would have been able to receive fibre broadband.''
More than 890,000 premises now have access to fibre broadband. And with the additional investment the programme promises new DSSB in every local authority area during 2018 and beyond.
Robert Thorburn, fibre partnership director for Openreach in Scotland, added: “Everyone at Openreach is massively proud to be part of the Digital Scotland project.
“The scale of the challenge of delivering fibre broadband the length and breadth of Scotland is huge.
“Our planners, engineers and contractors have worked flat out to make sure we reached 95% of Scottish premises on time and on budget.
“Latest stats show that 92.7% of households and businesses in Scotland can now get a superfast service of 24Mbps or faster."