Forfar among communities in line for major broadband investment

Homes and businesses in Forfar are set to benefit from a major broadband improvement as part of a £95 million investment by digital network Openreach.

By
Mark Dowie
Thursday, 25th November 2021, 7:00am
Forfar among communities in line for major broadband investment
Forfar is one of two areas in Angus to benefit from the investment. Upgrading work will also be carried out in Carnoustie.

The company’s latest build announcement promises a new ultrafast, ultra-reliable ‘full fibre’ broadband network to be built to most premises the area.

Other Scottish communities are also set to benefit, with Carnoustie the other area of Angus which will receive the upgrade.

The digital network provider, used by customers of service providers including BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone, has now reached more than six million homes and businesses across the UK with ultrafast full fibre, around 480,000 of them in Scotland.

Engineers will use Openreach’s existing network of ducts and poles, where possible, to minimise disruption when work starts.

The latest plans follow news earlier this year that around 300,000 Scottish homes and businesses would get access to Openreach’s new network, mostly in rural and harder to serve areas.

The company has already announced plans to upgrade more than 40 towns across Angus – including Arbroath, Brechin and Montrose – as well as in Fife and Perth & Kinross.

Robert Thorburn, partnership director for Openreach in Scotland, said: “ Good connectivity is vital – whether it’s to work from home, access education and care services, or for gaming and streaming entertainment.

“Nobody’s building faster, further or to a higher standard than Openreach, and we’ve already reached six million homes and businesses with ultrafast full fibre technology, including 480,000 in Scotland. It’s proving popular as well, with nearly 23 per cent already choosing to start using it.”

Kate Forbes, Scottish Government Economy Secretary, added: “Digital connectivity is more vital than ever and critical to Scotland’s plans for a strong, green and fair economic recovery.

“Our Reaching 100% (R100) programme – including investment of £600 million – ensures that everyone in Scotland can access superfast broadband. With Openreach’s latest investment of £95 million, this will ensure more than 50 of our communities across Scotland will be able to access even faster full-fibre broadband.”

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