Openreach is commencing work this week to build a new Ultrafast broadband network offering speeds of up to 330Mbps* in Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire – the first area in Scotland to be announced as part of the company’s countrywide investment to reach three million homes and business. The new network will mean local people could be among the first in Scotland to benefit from broadband speeds up to 10 times the UK average – and faster than many cities across Europe – in early 2019 months ahead of previously announced timescales.
Among the most incredible aspects of the switch, the so-called comprehensive full fibre broadband upgrade, however, is what BT describes as a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity. Such an ambitious project, if successful, would mean thousands of people would be able to connect lots of devices each one with gigabit-capable speeds. Assistant editor, Natalie Bannerman sums it up perfectly, by writing how this is a dream most of us can only imagine, and how dreams can at least be made a lot more affordable with moving to Hull plus, the City of Culture for 2017.
The engineers have already begun roll-out in a part of Kirkintilloch, with the rest of the town to be covered by 2024.
Full fibre broadband is a more reliable and resilient internet compared to standard and superfast broadband, with fewer faults and consistent speeds especially at peak times.
From gaining high-speed access to the internet, customers will be able to enjoy several online services that most of today’s demanding applications need. Residents will be entitled to full internet access without restrictions just like in any app used. These range from applications that allow for seamless streaming of movies, lag-free online gaming while even reducing the need of video calls. In line with this, it will also be possible to make online transactions in the sense that customers will be able to use online banking systems where they can comfortably pay their bills while carrying out other business banking transactions from the comfort of their customer area. Customers will be able to have fast multiscreen video conferencing application access, which allows them to simply select the individual they want to talk to from the contact list while enjoying the conversations.
Highlighting Openreach’s commitment to ensuring disruption is kept to a minimum as part of its extremely large infrastructure upgrade, Robert Thorburn, Partnership Director for Openreach in Scotland, said: “While we receive many benefits from being a small, compact country, it also means we’re one of the most congested in terms of streetworks. “None of us want to spend more time than we need to in traffic and this great announcement will enable people to get connected to their work or digital entertainment more quickly. I’d also like to say thanks to all our partners, who have worked closely with us to achieve this.”
The fact that Kirkintilloch is part of Openreach’s broadband expansion programme underlines their commitment to making sure all areas of Scotland have access to high-speed broadband, breeding economic development and community cohesion.
Openreach’s giant full-fat fibre network in Scotland now runs past 1.1 million premises, with work already under way or about to start at another 200,000 sites. The Openreach full fibre build is part of a £12bn scheme to reach 25m homes in the UK by the end of 2026.
The deployment in Kirkintilloch involves the services of Openreach’s build partner, Circet and the CEO of Circet, Alan O’Prey, added: “We’re pleased to be working with Openreach to bring faster, more reliable broadband services to Kirkintilloch. Our crews are building the network as quickly as possible and we’ll maintain close links with the local community to make sure anyone with any questions is kept up to date with progress. So far, our work to install new cables has been progressing well without causing any significant disruption to residents and businesses. I’d also like to thank Kirkintilloch residents for their patience and understanding throughout the works.
