Tag: faster broadband

100,000 connections bring faster broadband

£600m supporting Scotland’s communities and business growth

More than 100,000 faster broadband connections have now been delivered to homes and businesses across Scotland through the £600m R100 programme.

The milestone marks significant progress in bringing faster, more reliable broadband to communities across Scotland, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach areas. 

Independent evaluation shows the positive impact improved connectivity through the R100 programme is having. Around three-quarters of businesses report increased productivity and stronger performance, while nearly two-thirds of households feel more connected to friends, family and the wider world. Almost half say their wellbeing has improved. 

Business Minister Tom Arthur visited Falkirk Distillery to hear how access to faster broadband is helping to transform and support the growth of the business. 

Mr Arthur said: “Fast, reliable internet is essential for modern life – it supports businesses, enables remote working and helps people access services and stay connected with friends and family. Across Scotland, this investment is already delivering real benefits and transforming lives and livelihoods. 

“Reaching 100,000 connections is a significant milestone for the R100 programme and our wider investment in Scotland’s digital infrastructure.

“We will continue to work with our delivery partners, including Openreach, to maximise the impact of this investment and extend the benefits to more homes and businesses across the country.” 

Fiona Stewart, owner of Falkirk Distillery, said: “Our faster broadband has been hugely beneficial for the business.

“It has enhanced our online booking for tours and improved our visitor experience due to better WiFi for our customers, supported our digital marketing and social media, and helped to make online payments in our retail shop more resilient.  

“It will also support a higher volume of digital payments as part of our expansion plans including the launch of a new restaurant and additional retail space.”   

Robert Thorburn, Openreach Partnership Director for Scotland, said: “This is a fantastic milestone for Scotland. Delivering almost all of these connections, our engineers have worked in some of the most challenging locations to bring full fibre to communities that need it most.

“It’s about more than infrastructure – it’s about opening up opportunities and helping rural areas thrive for the long term.” 

People can check the latest information on connectivity for their home or business using the Scottish Government’s online address checker at gov.scot/broadband

R100: Scotland’s full fibre broadband network extended

More rural homes and businesses will access faster broadband following a further £36 million expansion of the Reaching 100% (R100) contracts. 

The extension of existing contracts with delivery partner Openreach will see another 2,637 rural properties across Scotland able to access gigabit-capable connections through additional Scottish and UK Government investment in the R100 programme.

It will provide speeds more than 30 times faster than the Scottish Government’s original commitment and fulfil a 2021/22 Programme for Government commitment to deliver gigabit capable connections to the islands.

Contracts for both the North Lot – covering the north of Scotland and most of Scotland’s inhabited islands – and South Lot – covering Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders and stretching from East Lothian and East Ayrshire – are being extended with this new R100 investment. 

The UK Government’s Project Gigabit will fund £16 million of this additional investment, which will be split between the R100 North and South contracts. The Scottish Government will invest a further £20 million in the North contract to help fund the gap between the cost of delivery and the contribution from Project Gigabit.

Business Minister Ivan McKee said: “This latest investment will connect more homes and businesses in Scotland’s rural and island communities to gigabit capable broadband. That will have far reaching economic, social and development impacts.

“Our R100 programme is going further, and providing faster broadband, than originally envisaged. This takes time and significant investment, but we are fully committed to ensuring that as many people as possible are able to enjoy the important advantages of this future-proofed digital infrastructure.”

Digital Infrastructure Minister for the UK Government Matt Warman said: “Bringing lightning-fast and reliable broadband to hard-to-reach areas is at the heart of the UK Government’s mission to level up communities, and that’s exactly what we’re doing in Scotland with our additional £16 million investment in R100.

“We’ve already delivered faster broadband to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across Scotland and there is even more investment on the way thanks to Project Gigabit, our record £5 billion programme to bring growth and prosperity to rural areas by putting them in the digital fast lane.”

Openreach Scotland Partnership Director Robert Thorburn said: “The R100 build is once in a generation, bringing the fastest, most reliable technology to our most remote residents. Full fibre is future-proof – so the new network will always meet the nation’s needs. 

“Connecting these properties one by one is one of the biggest broadband challenges in Europe. To make the most efficient use of resources, we’ll align the R100 build with our own rural investment. This will help us to get engineers and equipment to the most remote places, where they’re needed. 

“We’ll continue to explore every option to reach more rural homes, faster.”