Scotland will benefit from Virgin Media’s first large scale rollout of ultrafast fibre broadband connected directly to homes and businesses.
According to the operator, it has committed to connecting at least two-thirds of the 360,000 additional homes and businesses being added to its ultrafast broadband network in Scotland directly with fibre to the premise (FTTP).
More than a third of the additional homes and business will be available by the end of 2017 in both urban and rural areas. The first to benefit will be 55,000 premises in Ayrshire (specifically Kilmarnock, Ayr, Prestwick and Irvine); 70,000 premises in Fife (specifically Dunfermline, Dalgety Bay, Rosyth and Inverkeithing); plus, the villages of Kirknewton (West Lothian), Kilmacolm, Houston, Crosslee, Craigends and Bridge of Weir (Renfrewshire), which were among the top ten communities in the Virgin Media ‘Supercharging Local Communities’ initiative earlier this year calling on residents to register their interest.
Backed by parent company Liberty Global, Virgin Media is expanding its ultrafast fibre broadband network as part of a £3 billion UK-wide investment – known as ‘Project Lightning’ – to reach 17 million premises, an additional 4 million homes and business.
Commenting on the rollout in Scotland, Tom Mockridge, CEO at Virgin Media, said: “Virgin Media is building the only genuinely ultrafast fibre broadband network. Scotland will benefit first from our plans to accelerate the rollout of fibre broadband. This private investment will give people in Scotland the broadband boost they deserve and help to drive economic growth. We urge local councils and landlords to work with us to ensure this expansion happens as quickly as possible.”
Fergus Ewing, cabinet secretary for the rural economy and connectivity, said: “We want Scotland to become a world class digital nation. A key part of this is future-proofed digital infrastructure that will boost connectivity. That is why we are committed to providing superfast broadband for 100% of premises in Scotland by 2021. Commercial investment has a role and responsibility to play in delivering that commitment. I welcome Virgin Media’s announcement that two-thirds of their build in Scotland will be FTTP, providing genuinely world class infrastructure capable of delivering ultrafast connectivity.”
