Superfast lane beckons for the north at last
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SUPERFAST broadband speeds will get a jumbo-sized upgrade in a number of Wester Ross communities by the end of the year.
Around 140 homes stretching from Achnasheen to Aultguish will be upgraded to ultrafast technology thanks to a multi-million-pound partnership.
Around two-thirds of the properties will get their upgrade through the £428 million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme, which is led by Highland and Islands Enterprise locally, with the rest getting a full-fibre upgrade through a Community Fibre Partnership with Openreach.
Homes in Achanalt, Lochluichart, Corriemoillie, Little Garve, Gorstan, Grudie and Inchbae will all see average speeds soar from half-a-megabyte a second, to up to hundreds of megabytes per second.
The new network started to go live this week, with around 90 per cent of buildings in Achnasheen now able to order a service. The project research by the voluntary group Garve and District Broadband (GDB). Lochluichart Community Trust, Openreach, the Digital Scotland project, and the UK government’s Better Broadband scheme are all contributing.
And local residents are digging in the last few metres of cable to more than 35 per cent of the properties.
Community spokesman Steve Jones said: "It’s a tremendously exciting time. Fast, reliable broadband... is a prerequisite for attracting families and businesses to the area, where the population has fallen in recent years."
Lesley Negri, who runs Aultguish Inn near Garve with her husband Dario, added: "It will make a huge difference to us, especially for our booking system and payments.
"At the moment everything slows down from 4pm and we can’t manage customer expectations."
