Carnoustie pupils get a lesson with fibre broadband

Pupils from Woodlands Primary School in Carnoustie jumped on board the Digital Scotland Fibre Showcase this week to learn all about high-speed fibre broadband.

Students were joined by the Digital Scotland team to learn about how fibre broadband is rolled out and all the opportunities and benefits it could have for their school work.

When the Digital Scotland team visited pupils from Woodlands Primary on Thursday, it was also a great opportunity for Primary Five pupil, Oisín Lindsay-Dorward, as he was able to tie in the visit with the school’s career week.

His mum, Samantha, who is a community project officer, talked about her role with the Digital Scotland programme, as well as the various other jobs involved in the roll-out of fibre broadband.

More than 500 households and businesses in Carnoustie can now access high-speed fibre services thanks to the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme. Local people need to sign up for the new services with an internet service provider, as upgrades are not automatic.

The premises join more than 7,200 in Angus which are now able to access fibre broadband through the Digital Scotland rollout. Other local areas where fibre broadband is now live thanks to the programme include Alyth, Auchmithie, Glamis, Kingsmuir, Meigle, and Newtyle.

More coverage will follow as engineers from BT’s local network business, Openreach, continue work on the ground.

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.

During the visit, pupils were also able to climb aboard the Digital Scotland Fibre Showcase, a unique vehicle which features all of the equipment used in the roll-out of fibre broadband.

It includes kit which is familiar to members of the public - like the new green street cabinets - as well as some of the things they don’t often see, such as how fibre-optic cables are ‘blown’ underground.

Samantha said: “It was a huge pleasure to come down to Woodlands Primary and give students an insight into how high-speed technology powers the internet.

“Having the opportunity to visit during the school’s career week allowed me to not only share my role with my son’s classmates, but also to outline all the different elements and types of career that are involved in the roll-out of fibre broadband.”

Sara Budge, Programme Director for Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband, said: “It’s great news that many residents and businesses in and around Carnoustie are now able to receive fibre broadband thanks to the programme, with more local coverage to follow.

“I also hope that all the children at the school enjoyed visiting our Digital Scotland Fibre Showcase and found it insightful in finding out what fibre broadband can provide and how it’s delivered, as well as giving them the chance to think of future careers.

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

The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme aims to provide fibre broadband infrastructure to parts of Scotland not included in commercial providers’ investment plans. Combined with current commercial roll-out plan, the programme will deliver access to fibre broadband to around 95% of premises by the end of March 2018.

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 atwww.facebook.com/scotlandsuperfast.

ENDS