Broadband boost for Scotland
Over 1.5 million businesses and properties across Scotland have now got access to superfast broadband as the rollout of the new technology continues to gather pace.
The Scottish government revealed that the Digital Scotland partnership project and BT's commercial rollout means that homes and companies from Lerwick on Shetland to Gretna in Dumfries and Galloway are now connected to faster speeds.
The Scottish government's deputy first minister John Swinney stated that it is a positive piece of news that so many people across the country now have access to superfast broadband speeds.
He said: "The scale of delivering fibre broadband across our communities in Scotland shouldn’t be underestimated and this announcement shows how hard engineers are working.
"It’s a fundamental part of the Scottish Government’s aim to deliver world class connectivity by 2020, enabling people across Scotland to connect any time, any place, anywhere, using any device."
Some 1.3 million properties across Scotland have been given the chance to use superfast broadband for the first time by BT, with a further 220,000 connected by the Digital Scotland partnership project, which Mr Swinney noted is still in its early stages.
UK government Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey added that it is "terrific" news 1.5 million homes and businesses in Scotland can now have a fast and reliable connection to the internet.
He said: "The UK government is investing £100 million in superfast broadband for Scotland and our rollout has already reached more than 200,000 properties that the commercial rollout would not have covered."
Brendan Dick, BT Scotland director, also pointed out that 10,000 more properties are being connected to superfast broadband every single week as the speed of the rollout continues to gather pace.
He added: "We’ve recruited hundreds of extra engineers and invested hundreds of millions of pounds through our own commercial fibre broadband programme and the Digital Scotland partnership."
Businesses looking to move services into the cloud, should evaluate the performance of their existing network and consider setting up a leased line or MPLS network.
(Image: Kings Sutton)
