Three West Lothian towns are set to benefit from new high-speed internet access.
Bathgate, Broxburn and Whitburn is among 36 new locations where Openreach will be building its new, future-proof Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband technology over the next 12 months.
Work will begin in towns and cities across the country over the coming months, while the West Lothian towns have been prioritised along with Kilmarnock, following the Scottish Government’s decision to extend rates relief on new fibre broadband networks.
The new has been welcomed by West Lothian Council’s executive councillor for development and transport, Cathy Muldoon.
She said: “It’s great news that Bathgate, Broxburn and Whitburn will benefit from ultrafast connectivity. There are significant benefits to local residents and businesses and this improvement will help our local economy. Better, faster communications help businesses to grow and stimulate job creation.”
Openreach recently raised its target for full fibre connections from three to four million premises by March 2021, with an ambition to reach 15 million homes and businesses by the mid-2020s if the right investment conditions are in place.
Clive Selley, chief executive of Openreach, said: “We’re pressing ahead with our investment and Openreach engineers are now building in communities all over the country, keeping us on track to deliver against the bigger ambitions we set out in May. The Government wants to see a nationwide full fibre network and we’re keen to lead the way in helping them achieve that.
"I’m convinced that prioritising investment in faster, more reliable and future proof broadband networks will prove to be a no-regrets decision for future generations.”
Since the launch of Openreach’s Fibre First build programme in February last year, its engineers have deployed around 2.6 million kilometres of fibre– enough to travel to the moon and back three times.
Paul Wheelhouse, Connectivity Minister for the Scottish Government, said: “We listened to industry and provided 10 years’ rates relief, five years more than the UK Government, with the aim of encouraging new investment in Scotland’s fibre infrastructure network. I am pleased to see that decision yielding early results with this announcement by Openreach.
“Through the DSSB programme, we have seen the transformative effects that good quality digital connectivity can deliver for Scotland, and I hope the delivery of full fibre infrastructure to Bathgate, Broxburn, Kilmarnock and Whitburn will deliver similar results. Commercial investment is a critical element of delivering our ambition to deliver 100 per cent superfast broadband access to every home and business in the country, making Scotland one of the best-connected countries in Europe.”
