The arrival of fibre broadband in a Scottish town will give a “huge boost” to tourism in the area, campaigners have claimed.
More than 2,200 homes and businesses in Glenrothes can now access superfast speeds thanks to the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme.
The work has extended the existing network in Glenrothes itself and reached smaller communities such as Star for the first time.
Other parts of Fife, including Ballingry, Cardenden and Kinglassie, have also been included in the rollout, taking the number of Fife premises able to access superfast broadband close to 40,000.
Leslie Bain, chair of the ‘Go Glenrothes’ campaign, which aims to make the town a popular tourist destination, joined local councillors Ian Sloan and John Wincott to unveil Glenrothes’ latest fibre street cabinet.
Mr Bain said: “High-speed internet connections bring a huge boost to Glenrothes and it was a pleasure to help announce the arrival of more fibre broadband locally.
“Not only will it mean that residents can keep up to date with latest news from our campaign, it’ll have a huge benefit for tourists being able to see what the town has to offer and keep in touch with friends and family while they’re visiting.”
The DSSB programme, which works in partnership with BT and the Scottish Government, is aiming to deliver fibre broadband to 95% of premises by March 2018, when combined with commercial broadband rollouts.
The £410m project is led by the Highlands and Islands Enterprise in its area, and by the Scottish Government in the rest of Scotland.
Cllr John Wincott, vice chair of Fife Council’s Glenrothes Area Committee, said: “It’s good to see this programme reaching more communities and giving an increasing number of homes and businesses the opportunity to connect to high-speed broadband.
“A high-speed connection has become almost as essential as gas, electricity and water, and it’s great to see this being improved in the Glenrothes area.
“For businesses in particular, the availability of a reliable, high-speed internet connection can be transformative.”
Sara Budge, programme director for DSSB, said: “It’s great news that many residents and businesses in and around Fife are now able to receive fibre broadband thanks to the programme, with more local coverage to follow.
“It was fantastic having the ‘Go Glenrothes’ campaign help us with our celebrations. I hope that they will be able to use the new technology to help with promoting the town.”
Source: Cable.co.uk
Supporting Scotland's Towns