Perthshire Politician Connects With High Speed Broadband | Openreach

During the field visit the Deputy First Minister visited a new ‘full fibre’ network in Innerleithen Way in Perth, where he watched a step-by-step demo of how it’s installed. The future proof services are capable of carrying speeds up to 1Gbps* – that’s 21 times faster than the UK’s current average.

He also saw the inner workings of a local fibre street cabinet and heard how our engineers are using innovative new techniques to bring more reliable, faster broadband to rural communities.
According to the independent website Think Broadband, 85 per cent of premises in Perth and Kinross are now able to connect to broadband at a speed of 30Mbps and above.

Strong connectivity, strong local economy

Mr Swinney said: “Good connectivity is absolutely vital for a strong local economy, so it’s been useful to see the progress that’s being made and hear about the next stage of upgrades.
“The Scottish Government has been working with Openreach over the last several years to improve broadband and without the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband partnership, Perth and Kinross would have had only around 40 per cent coverage from the private sector.

“There is more work to do, and I’m determined to make sure that progress continues at pace.

He added: “We’re at the start of a move to a full fibre future as the old copper telecoms network gradually comes to the end of its working life. It was useful to see how engineers go about installing this new technology where the fibre runs directly to people’s homes.

“While the process is expected to take many years, it’s great to know that some local residents can already enjoy full fibre broadband capabilities which are among the best anywhere in the UK.”