Speedway star Coty gets Possil off the starting line

Glasgow Tigers speedway star Coty Garcia was first off the starting line – to help launch the latest batch of high-speed fibre broadband in Glasgow.

The Argentinian ace confirmed that Possil is now superfast thanks to the £410 million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband Programme.

Across Scotland, nearly 580,000 premises are now able to connect to fibre thanks to the Digital Scotland project, led by the Scottish Government. Among the total are nearly 60,000 Glasgow homes and businesses, including premises in Cranhill, Pollok and Drumchapel.

More coverage will follow in the city as engineers from Openreach, BT’s local network business, continue work on the ground. To benefit from the faster connection speeds, residents need to sign up for a fibre service with their chosen provider, as upgrades aren’t automatic.

Fibre broadband offers fast and reliable broadband connections at speeds of up to 80Mbps* and there are many suppliers in the marketplace to choose from.

Whether you own a business, work from home or want to keep in touch with friends and family, fibre broadband enables multiple users to connect to the internet at high speeds and get better, faster access to online services.

The Glasgow Tigers www.glasgowtigers.org are based at Ashfield Stadium, which recently benefitted from a major makeover with a £1.6 million redevelopment. The stadium is just a few minutes’ walk from where the new fibre street cabinet was unveiled in Fruin Street, Possilpark.

Coty said: "Speed is hugely important for me as a racer when it comes to my bikes. But it's also vital for me to have a fast internet connection. I use it all the time to speak to friends and family back in Argentina. I still have a life there, so it's important that I can keep in touch.

"I couldn't live without my internet - I only stop using it when I'm riding or training - so I was delighted to help with the launch. The arrival of fibre broadband will let the people of Possil be well-connected - and achieve the same kind of great speeds that we achieve at the speedway on Sundays."

The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme – in partnership with the Scottish Government and BT – will deliver access to fibre broadband to around 95% of premises by the end of March 2018, when combined with existing commercial roll-out plans.

The £410 million programme underpins the Scottish Government’s aim for Scotland to become a world class digital nation by 2020.

It’s delivered through two projects, led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise in their area and the Scottish Government in the rest of Scotland.

Other funding partners include the UK Government through Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), local authorities and the European Regional Development Fund. BT has invested £126 million in the two projects, in addition to its commercial rollout.

Sara Budge, Programme Director for Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband, said: “Thanks very much to Coty for helping get Possil off the starting grid. It’s great news that many residents and businesses in Glasgow are now able to receive fibre broadband thanks to the programme, with areas like Possil, Pollok, Cranhill and Drumchapel all benefitting and more local coverage to follow.

“The difference that fibre broadband can make is amazing. Once people have signed up with a service provider, it will give much more flexibility whether it’s at work or in the home.

Liz Mallinson, BT Scotland’s Fibre Broadband Director, added: “Thousands of Glaswegians now have the opportunity to access their best ever broadband speeds when they sign up with a service provider.

“Many local people are already enjoying the new, faster connections and we’d urge others to consider the benefits of life in the internet fast lane. There’s lots of competition out there and people may be pleasantly surprised to find they could be surfing at much higher speeds at a similar cost to their current service.”

Local people can check the interactive map on the Digital Scotland website ( http://www.scotlandsuperfast.com/where-when/ ) 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

ENDS

*These are the top wholesale speeds available from Openreach to all service providers; speeds offered by service providers may vary.

Notes to editors

Due to the current network topography and the economics of deployment, it is likely that not all premises within selected exchange areas will be able to access fibre-based broadband at the same point in the roll-out. Further announcements will be made as more areas are able to access the growing fibre infrastructure.