Full Fibre coming to Scottish Borders towns
Openreach has started work to build new ultrafast broadband networks for Jedburgh and Hawick – giving residents and businesses access to some of the fastest, most reliable broadband anywhere in Europe.
The once-in-a-generation, Full Fibre broadband upgrades will let thousands of local people connect multiple devices at gigabit-capable speeds and help businesses trade online and compete for decades to come.
Engineers have started work in the towns and the builds are expected to reach the majority of local homes and businesses in the next couple of years.
Meanwhile, engineers are also hard at work bringing ultrafast broadband to more properties in Galashiels and Selkirk – adding to over 9,000 premises in the towns that can already upgrade.
Across the Scottish Borders, more than 30,000 households and businesses are now passed by the new full fibre network. Local people can visit openreach.co.uk/ultrafastfullfibre to check the latest status for their address, register for updates and, as the build progresses, see when services are available from their chosen provider.
Full Fibre broadband provides more reliable, resilient and future-proof connectivity; with fewer faults; more predictable, consistent speeds and enough capacity to easily meet growing data demands. Residents can enjoy a host of online services and entertainment, with seamless streaming and smooth online gaming. The technology also supports day-to-day, business critical tasks like video calls, banking and online customer interactions.
Robert Thorburn, Openreach Partnership Director for Scotland, said: “We’re bringing ultrafast broadband to Jedburgh and Hawick and letting local people know what to expect.
“This is a major infrastructure upgrade, so there will be more engineering teams, equipment and vans around town, and we're working hard to keep disruption to a minimum.
“Wherever possible, we’ll use our existing network of ducts and poles to avoid roadworks, new street furniture and disturbance. But there may be places where we need to install new poles, underground ducts and fibre cables because it’s the only way to make sure households get included in the upgrade.”
He added: “Jedburgh and Hawick are part of our balanced build across Scotland. We want to make sure that progress is evenly spread and that people in all parts of the country can be online effortlessly and build opportunities in their community. Connecting everyone in Scotland to our fastest and most reliable broadband would result in a multi-billion pound economic boost.”
Openreach’s new ultrafast Full Fibre network in Scotland now reaches more than 1.2m properties, and the company plans to roll out the new technology to 25 million homes and businesses by the end of 2026.
Openreach build partners Circet and MTS are helping to deliver the investment.
