39 more communities set to benefit from BT roll-out – Scottish Government welcomes new development
BT today announced plans to make faster broadband available to a further 124,000 homes and businesses in Scotland.
Bo’ness, Brechin, Dumbarton, Elgin, Fochabers, Lockerbie, Scone and Tillicoultry are among the latest communities to be included in the roll-out of BT’s next generation broadband service delivered over copper lines. They are due to be upgraded by the Spring of next year. A full list of the new locations is below.
The BT investment will make available download speeds of up to 20 megabits per second (Mbps) – more than double the speed previously available from BT.
The faster broadband is already available to around 1.5 million homes and businesses in Scotland, with Burntisland, Bridge of Earn, Dumfries, Fort William, Grantown on Spey and Kirriemuir among the latest places where upgrades have been completed.
By next Spring, around three-quarters of homes and businesses in Scotland will be served by an exchange which has been upgraded to deliver these higher speeds. The new service is available on an open, wholesale basis to all companies providing broadband*.
Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment, said: “This latest announcement from BT is very much welcomed. Broadband is a vital part of the essential infrastructure of Scotland and faster broadband for businesses and households will play a key role in Scotland’s future success.
“Today’s announcement shows the role the private sector has in helping the Scottish Government deliver our Digital Infrastructure Action Plan, moving us a step closer to achieving world-class digital connectivity across Scotland.”
Brendan Dick, BT Scotland director, said: “The rapid roll-out of faster broadband offers a great opportunity for Scotland. It is an important part of BT’s plans to help ensure that the nation is able to take full advantage of the communications revolution.
“The technology is having a major impact on our everyday lives and changing for the better the way we live, helping businesses work more efficiently and flexibly and find new markets. And communities are better able to make use of the huge range of on-line educational and entertainment opportunities available. But there is still much work to be done and we want to work with the public sector to find solutions for even the most challenging locations.”
This investment in the copper network is in addition to BT’s £2.5 billion roll-out of fibre-based broadband, which will bring even faster speeds to around two-thirds of UK premises by the end of 2014. Some 94 Scottish exchange areas covering around 836,000 premises have been included in the fibre upgrade plan to date.
ENDS
Locations announced today for faster broadband upgrade:
| EXCHANGE | AREA | EXCHANGE | AREA |
| INVERBERVIE | Aberdeenshire | BUCKHAVEN | Fife |
| LAURENCEKIRK | Aberdeenshire | KINGHORN | Fife |
| ALFORD | Aberdeenshire | LOCHGELLY | Fife |
| BANFF | Aberdeenshire | NEWMILLS | Fife |
| MACDUFF | Aberdeenshire | NEW OAKLEY | Fife |
| MINTLAW | Aberdeenshire | ELGIN | Moray |
| NEWTONHILL | Aberdeenshire | FOCHABERS | Moray |
| TURRIFF | Aberdeenshire | KEITH | Moray |
| BRECHIN | Angus | KILBIRNIE | North Ayrshire |
| RHU NEW | Argyll and Bute | WEST KILBRIDE | North Ayrshire |
| SOUTH QUEENSFERRY | City of Edinburgh | HARTHILL | North Lanarkshire |
| TILLICOULTRY | Clackmannanshire | SHOTTS | North Lanarkshire |
| LOCKERBIE | Dumfries and Galloway | CALDERCRUIX | North Lanarkshire |
| NEWBRIDGE | Dumfries and Galloway | SCONE | Perth and Kinross |
| BAXTER | Dundee City | BREDILAND | Renfrewshire |
| GALSTON | East Ayrshire | GALASHIELS | Scottish Borders |
| LENNOXTOWN | East Dunbartonshire | COLDSTREAM | Scottish Borders |
| BO’NESS | Falkirk | LARKHALL | South Lanarkshire |
| BONNYBRIDGE | Falkirk | DUMBARTON | West Dunbartonshire |
| WHITBURN | West Lothian |
Note to Editors
*Once an exchange area has been upgraded for next generation broadband, some service providers automatically upgrade their customers to the enhanced broadband service. People should contact their chosen service provider for more information about the products and services they offer.
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