Spittal pupils get a lesson with fibre broadband

Pupils from Spittal Primary School were superfast in finding out the benefits of fibre broadband when the Digital Scotland Fibre Showcase paid them a visit this week.

More than 5,000 premises households and businesses in Rutherglen can now access high-speed fibre services thanks to the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme.

The Digital Scotland team visited pupils from Spittal Primary School on Thursday. During the visits, pupils were able to climb aboard the Digital Scotland Fibre Showcase, a unique vehicle which features equipment used in the roll-out of fibre broadband.

Local people need to sign up for the new services with an internet service provider, as upgrades are not automatic.

The Rutherglen premises join more than 60,000 in Glasgow – and more than 640,000 across Scotland – that are now able to access fibre broadband through the £410 million Digital Scotland rollout. Other local areas which now have new or additional coverage thanks to the programme include Bridgeton, Cambuslang and Croftfoot.

More local coverage will follow as engineers from Openreach, BT’s local network business, 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.

Sara Budge, Programme Director for Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband, said: “It’s great news that many residents and businesses in and around Spittal 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.”

Liz Mallinson, BT Scotland’s Fibre Broadband Director, added: “Thousands of people in Glasgow now have the opportunity to access their best ever broadband speeds when they sign up with a service provider. There’s lots of competition out there and people may find they could be surfing at much higher speeds at a similar cost to their current service.

“We’d like to thank the school for having us – it’s great that local pupils were able to get an insight into how high-speed technology powers the internet and learn about a very positive side to a career in engineering.”

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.