Annan, Eastriggs, Ecclefechan, Gretna, Leswalt, Lockerbie, Lochans, Moffat, Newton Stewart, Port William, Sandhead, Whithorn and Wigtown have all been announced as the next areas to be passed by the Digital Scotland deployment of high-speed fibre broadband.
During this winter, those included in today’s announcement will be able to access fibre broadband services at speeds of up to 80Mbps. All of the locations in Dumfries and Galloway will receive the high speed technology for the first time.
The new infrastructure will mean that multiple users in a home or business will be able to access the internet and download and share large files at the same time and more quickly than ever before.
Ronnie Nicholson, Leader of Dumfries and Galloway, said “Our Council is committed to building our local economy and I am delighted to see the continued roll out of the South of Scotland Broadband project. This second phase announcement demonstrates that this key priority project for our Council is now starting to be delivered in our region. We have committed £12.6 million to supplement our partners’ funding to ensure we achieve the maximum benefits from the project and will continue to work with BT on their plans to achieve this. Better Broadband is vital for our local businesses and key to attracting new business and new customers. Broadband will open up new opportunities for education, leisure and delivering the services our local people need. We are committed to ensuring our region is vibrant and successful and this project is fundamental to achieving this.”
Alongside the commercial roll-out of superfast broadband, the Digital Scotland programme will see around 95 per cent of premises in Scotland connected to fibre broadband infrastructure by 2017/18.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Today marks an important milestone for the people and businesses of Dumfries and Galloway as well as for the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband partnership.
“This programme will lay the foundations of a world class digital Scotland, by extending fibre broadband access to parts of Scotland that wouldn’t otherwise be served commercially.
“The scale of the challenge of delivering fibre broadband into rural Scotland outstrips any other part of the UK and will generate significant economic benefits, including new jobs and increased productivity.
“This is an important step towards ensuring that Scotland has world-class digital connectivity by 2020 and will be a key factor in ensuring Scotland’s long-term economic prosperity.”
Locations will be announced quarterly over the life of the projects as the fibre network rolls out across Scotland. Further local detail will be provided as plans advance and anyone interested in the roll-out can keep up to date and get more detail at www.digitalscotland.org