The long-standing promise of UK broadband providers and the government to bring gigabit connectivity to all parts of the country is reaching fruition, with businesses on the Hebridean islands of Tiree and Iona marking a digital milestone and alternative broadband provider Quickline claiming to have made an “exceptional” start on its commitments to the national Project Gigabit scheme in North Yorkshire.
For years, connectivity on the Scottish islands has been a challenge due to their location and dispersed populations. Their first ultrafast broadband connections are now live, in what is being described as a “transformative” upgrade by engineers from the UK’s leading broadband provider, Openreach, for the Scottish government’s Reaching 100% (R100) programme.
The initial roll-out has seen the first households and businesses on Tiree able to gain gigabit access, while everyone on Iona is able to upgrade. Delivering full-fibre to Tiree required intricate planning and local collaboration, with support from the Tiree Community Development Trust and its ranger, Hayley Douglas.
Openreach engineers have worked closely with Douglas to protect native and over-wintering wildlife and navigate Tiree’s pristine beaches and crofting landscapes. Engineers need to complete work before rare corn crakes and other bird species return to breed in the spring.
Openreach said the gigabit upgrade marked a pivotal moment, connecting islanders to the wider world like never before. The island upgrades were part of a broader roll-out, with more rural communities across Scotland set to benefit in the coming months. The R100 contracts are seen as a key part of the Scottish government’s commitment to make sure that every community can play an active part in the digital economy.
Meanwhile, villages and hamlets around Settle, Boroughbridge, Hunmanby and Filey are among the first to benefit from Quickline’s roll-out of the £5bn Project Gigabit programme, introduced in 2021 with the aim of accelerating the UK’s recovery from Covid-19, boosting high-growth sectors such as tech and the creative industries, and levelling-up the country.
On its launch, the scheme looked to prioritise areas with slow connections that were seen as being left behind in commercial broadband companies’ plans, and give communities in so-called hard-to-reach places access to the fastest internet on the market.
Five months after being awarded the Project Gigabit contract in North Yorkshire, Quickline has delivered gigabit-capable access to almost 5,000 more homes and businesses. This includes the first 46 premises included in the contract, and a further 4,800 homes and businesses that have been connected through Quickline’s commercial build. Work is also progressing in areas including Stokesley, Topcliffe and Felixkirk, with hundreds more connections expected in the coming weeks.
The North Yorkshire contract is designed to bring gigabit-capable broadband to 36,000 funded premises, with over 50,000 additional connections delivered as part of Quickline’s commercial build.
Across all of its Project Gigabit contracts, Quickline has been engaged to connect 170,000 subsidised homes and businesses in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, rising to 360,000 with associated commercial builds.
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