Broadband for Chrimbo

Cullen, Fochabers, Fortrose, Grantown-on-Spey and Hopeman woke up to an early Christmas present - broadband!

The five local exchanges, serving 8300 homes and businesses, went live with ADSL this morning as another Highland community – Ullapool - learnt that their broadband activation target had been reached.

The switch on for today’s five local exchanges, several months ahead of schedule, comes thanks to a new initiative involving Highlands and Islands Enterprise and BT Scotland.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise chief executive Sandy Cumming said: “Broadband is now one of the major driving forces for economic and social development and we are doing all we can to ensure that businesses, communities and homes throughout the Highlands and Islands have high-speed internet access comparable with that available in larger towns and cities anywhere in the UK.

“This latest announcement, which sees availability of these services extended to more homes in the area, is another significant and welcome step towards that goal.”

BT Scotland general manager Brendan Dick said: “Once people in these five communities have experienced broadband, they’ll find there’s no going back! It offers loads of benefits for businesses and residential customers, from cost and efficiency savings to music, games and entertainment.

“Broadband speeds up everything online, whether it’s children doing homework, busy parents shopping and banking instantly, booking holidays or swapping e-mails and photos with family and friends around the world.”

Today’s activations bring the number of ADSL enabled local exchanges in the Highlands to 15. The other ten are: Inverness, Culloden, Elgin, Buckie, Nairn, Forres, Dingwall, Fort William, Oban and Lossiemouth.

Meanwhile, the Ullapool exchange is set to be upgraded for broadband after hitting its 250 customer registration trigger just weeks after it was allocated. A ready for service date will be announced shortly.

Two more exchanges are due to follow suit shortly on January 7 – Thurso and Findhorn, with Stornoway, Lerwick, Kirkwall and Ullapool to follow in the spring.

Find out your trigger

As ever, if you haven’t already registered do so now.

And if you live in area served by an ADSL enabled exchange, why not check out our ISP supplier info and get yourself into the fast lane of the information super highway.