Old cable TV network rewired for ultrafast future
Engineers use 1980s TV network to bring gigabit connectivity to thousands of Aberdeen homes
More than 110,000 homes and businesses across Aberdeen city and shire are among one million that can now access ultrafast broadband on Openreach’s Scottish network.
The new full fibre services are now available to 70,000 city households and businesses and 40,000 in Aberdeenshire, in places like Ellon, Kintore and Newmachar.
Openreach engineers have used the city’s old cable TV network – built back in the 1980s and disused for the last 20 years – to speed up the rollout to thousands of Aberdeen homes and avoid digging up streets.
Aberdeen’s Ashgrove and Balgownie areas, alongside Inverurie and Stonehaven, have some of the highest levels of coverage, while the rollout is expected to reach more properties in Fraserburgh, Peterhead, Portlethen and Alford in the next few months.
Openreach has invested more than £33.5 million1 in the local fibre network so far, and is working with the Scottish and UK Governments, through the Reaching 100% (R100) programme and voucher schemes, to upgrade some of the area’s hardest-to-reach places.
Nearly half of households and business owners in Aberdeenshire who have access to the new network, and more than a third of city residents, have already upgraded. But many more could order a faster, ultra-reliable service today.
Local people can visit openreach.co.uk/ultrafastfullfibre to register for updates and check their postcode to see if and when services are available from their chosen provider.
Robert Thorburn, Openreach Partnership Director for Scotland, said: “Our engineers and build partners have done an amazing job helping us bring the new full fibre network to one million homes and businesses across Scotland.
“We try to be innovative in our build, so it was brilliant to be able to ‘rewire’ Aberdeen’s old cable TV network with the latest fibre optics, using underground cameras to identify routes into thousands of city homes. That has been transformational.
"It’s quite a jump from 1980s cable TV to how we consume entertainment today, streaming our favourite shows, films and sports events from multiple services and downloading the latest video games. Our demand for data is only growing every year.
“Bringing fibre broadband to places like Rosehearty and Cruden Bay lets local people enjoy all the benefits of ultrafast speeds now – and will meet their needs decades into the future.
"The new network is not just faster, but also more reliable,” he added. “We've more to do, and we're working closely with Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire Council to overcome challenges and reach as many homes and businesses as possible."
The Scottish Government’s Innovation Minister Richard Lochhead said: “This is an important milestone in the drive to ensure more homes and businesses across Scotland benefit from full fibre broadband, improving vital connectivity.
“We are working with Openreach to roll-out future-proofed digital infrastructure to our rural towns and villages and this Reaching 100% build, alongside Openreach’s commercial network, will underpin economic growth and enhance communities across Scotland for decades to come.”
UK Government Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure Sir John Whittingdale said: “Thanks to UK government investment, thousands of rural homes, businesses and public buildings across Scotland now have access to first class broadband fit for the future.
“Over three quarters of premises across the UK can now access these faster speeds and with more collaboration with network builders like Openreach at a local and national level, we will see even more rural towns and villages staking their claim to this next-generation connectivity.”
The Openreach network offers the widest choice of providers, such as BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone and Zen, which means people have lots of choice and can shop for the best deals.
You can find out more about the benefits of an upgrade to Full Fibre broadband on the Openreach website.
ENDS
[1] Investment figure based on an average build cost of £300 per premises.
Photos: Fibre engineers guide tiny underground cameras through the 1980s cable TV network hidden under Aberdeen to find ways to bring gigabit internet to city residents.
Notes to editors
Future build information included in this news release reflects our plans at the time of publication. Building a new broadband network is a huge and complex national engineering programme, so changes may occur where we encounter unforeseen obstacles.
Cebr research shows that connecting everyone in Scotland to full fibre broadband would create a £4.5 billion boost to the nation’s economy. Across the UK, Openreach plans to connect 25m premises to full fibre broadband by the end of 2026.
