Fibre boost for Murieston thanks to Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband
The community of Murieston on the outskirts of Livingston celebrated the arrival of more high-speed fibre broadband this week as Councillor Lawrence Fitzpatrick and local residents helped the Digital Scotland team unveil a new street cabinet.
Around 90 more homes and businesses in Murieston can now get connected to high-speed fibre broadband, building on earlier work in the area thanks to the £428M Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme. In total, around 540 local premises can now order high-speed services.
They are among around 1,000 homes and businesses across Livingston which are now able to access fibre broadband through the Digital Scotland rollout.
Other areas in West Lothian to benefit from the rollout, led by the Scottish Government, include Uphall, Fauldhouse, Blackridge, Linlithgow, Philipstoun and Whitburn as well as additional recent coverage in places like Longridge. More local coverage will follow as engineers from Openreach – Scotland’s digital network business - continue work on the ground.
Local people can check the Digital Scotland website - scotlandsuperfast.com - to find out if they are able to access the latest fibre broadband technology. People need to sign up with an internet service provider, as upgrades are not automatic.
Leader of West Lothian Council Lawrence Fitzpatrick said: "The introduction of superfast broadband will be welcomed by businesses and residents in Murieston. The rollout of superfast broadband in Murieston has ensured more premises have access to a fast fibre network and lots of premises are signing up and befitting from the service.
"The £2.5m investment from West Lothian Council has ensured that West Lothian has a world class digital infrastructure, with one of the best levels of coverage in Scotland. This is important as we continue to market our area as a great place for businesses to remain competitive, grow and innovate.”
Fibre broadband offers fast and reliable broadband connections at speeds of up to 80Mbps* and there are many suppliers in the marketplace to choose from. Whether you own a business, work from home or want to keep in touch with friends and family, fibre broadband enables multiple users to connect to the internet at high speeds and get better, faster access to online services.
Sara Budge, Programme Director for Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband, said: “It’s fantastic news that the programme has been able to benefit residents and businesses in and around Livingston.
“I would like to thank Councillor Lawrence Fitzpatrick and the local residents of Murieston for joining us to celebrate fibre availability and I am glad to see that it has been able to benefit the local community.”
Digital Scotland funding partners include the Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, BT Group, the UK Government through Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), local authorities and the European Regional Development Fund.
BT Group is investing £126 million in the rollout, and the total project value includes around £18 million which is being reinvested back in to the programme as a result of stronger than expected early take-up.
Robert Thorburn, Openreach fibre partnership director for Scotland, said: “Thousands of people and businesses across West Lothian now have the opportunity to access their best-ever broadband speeds when they sign up with a service provider. There’s lots of competition out there, so people may find they could be surfing at much higher speeds at a similar cost to their current service.”
Further information is also available on Twitter @ScotSuperfast or Facebook at www.facebook.com/scotlandsuperfast
ENDS
*These are the top wholesale speeds available from Openreach to all service providers; speeds offered by service providers may vary.
Notes to editors:
Due to the current network topography and the economics of deployment, it is likely that not all premises within selected exchange areas will be able to access fibre-based broadband at the same point in the roll-out.
The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme aims to provide fibre broadband infrastructure to parts of Scotland not included in commercial providers’ investment plans. Combined with current commercial roll-out plans, the programme will deliver access to fibre broadband to around 95% of premises by the end of the current contract.
About BDUK
Superfast Britain is a UK Government programme of investment in broadband and communication infrastructure across the UK. Run by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, this investment helps businesses to grow, creates jobs and will make Britain more competitive in the global race. The portfolio is comprised of three elements:
£780m to extend superfast broadband to 95% of the UK by 2017
£150m to provide high speed broadband to businesses in 22 cities
£150m to improve quality and coverage of mobile phone and basic data network services
Administered on behalf of Government by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), Superfast Britain is transforming Britain by promoting growth, enabling skills and learning, and improving quality of life.
For further information: https://www.gov.uk/broadband-delivery-uk
