Inverkip sails into summer with Fibre Broadband Boost

Inverkip sailed into ‘summer’ with homes and businesses in the village now able to connect to fibre broadband thanks to the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme.

Over 650 properties in Inverkip join nearly 3750 homes and businesses in the Inverclyde area which are able to access fibre broadband - towns that are live thanks to the programme include Kilmacolm, Bridge of Weir, Greenock, Gourock and Wemyss Bay.

They are among the 370,000 across Scotland which can now access fibre broadband services at speeds of up to 80Mbps* as part of the £410 million Digital Scotland rollout. The new premises covered in Gourock and Greenock join 20,000 more homes and businesses in the two towns which are already passed by BT’s commercial roll-out.

Fibre broadband enables multiple users in a home or business to access the internet, download and share large files at the same time more quickly than ever before. In order to take advantage of the higher speeds now available, residents should contact their service provider.

On hand to unveil one of the cabinets which will provide fibre to the village were local businessman Alistair Hardy, Leader of Inverclyde Council Stephen McCabe and Mark Dames, head of policy for BT.

The Digital Scotland rollout is being delivered on the ground by engineers from BT’s local network business, Openreach. With more than 1,600 new cabinets now installed across Scotland to house the fibre connections, the project underpins the Scottish Government’s aim of delivering world class connectivity by 2020.

Stephen McCabe, Leader of Inverclyde Council said: “It’s really exciting to hear that premises in and around Inverkip as well as other areas in Inverclyde can now connect to fibre broadband. It’s good to see this project reaching more communities in our area, contributing towards the aim of connecting most of our homes and businesses to fibre broadband.

“We know how important access to high-speed internet technology is to both residents and businesses and are happy to see local businesses like the Inverkip Hotel have the opportunity to benefit from it if they sign up with their service provider.”

Local businessman and owner of the Inverkip Hotel, Alistair Hardy said: “I am delighted that fibre broadband has arrived in the village, it will be great for both residents and small businesses like the hotel.”

Sara Budge, programme director for Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband, said: “It’s great news that many residents and businesses in and around Inverkip are now able to receive fibre broadband thanks to the programme.

“The difference a high-speed connection can make is amazing, giving much more flexibility at work or in the home. Local people need to sign up with a service provider to experience all the benefits.”

BT is investing £126 million in the Digital Scotland programme, in addition to its commercial rollout of fibre broadband in Scotland.

Mark Dames, head of policy for BT Scotland, said: “Thousands more people in Inverclyde now have access to their best ever broadband speeds thanks to the Digital Scotland project. In Gourock and Greenock the additional coverage builds on BT’s commercial rollout, which covers more than 20,000 local homes and businesses.

“As the fibre network extends across Inverclyde, making the most of it is vital. I hope local people and businesses in the area will soon be taking advantage of all the opportunities on offer.”

Users can check the interactive map on the Digital Scotland website (http://www.digitalscotland.org/whereandwhen) to find out if they can get the service and further information is also available on Twitter @ScotSuperfast or Facebook at www.facebook.com/scotlandsuperfast