Scotland will see increased superfast broadband coverage for homes and businesses in rural areas, the Scottish Government has confirmed.
£15.6 million is being reinvested back into the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband project.
The additional funding will have a particular focus on maximising the numbers of premises that have access to speeds of greater than 24Mbps with funding targeted on areas with the lowest speed coverage including Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dumfries and Galloway, Perth and Kinross, Scottish Borders and Stirling.
The extension will mean that premises in very rural areas who do not currently benefit from any uplift in speed, as well as ‘new build’ premises constructed between 2012 and 2014, will now all be able to access superfast broadband.
Progress is being made around Scotland, for example, in Aberdeenshire the small village of Inverugie went live this month – with 79 fibre connections now available.
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Constitution Derek Mackay said: “Work is already underway and by December 2018 every local authority across the project area will enjoy at least 85% superfast broadband coverage with users able to experience speeds of above 24Mbps as part of our commitment to deliver 100% superfast broadband by 2020.
“We are already looking at how we reach further and ultimately ensure we get superfast speeds to all. This will include extending the programme to new areas, as well as identifying new solutions for parts of the network that are currently unable to access superfast speeds.”
