Openreach has revealed the 20 locations in Scotland with its best “ultrafast” broadband coverage, with Lundin Links in Fife topping the table.

Publishing the list, Openreach noted that “more than a million homes and businesses can now access ultrafast, full-fibre broadband on the company’s Scottish digital network”.

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Openreach, a wholly owned subsidiary of BT Group, added: “While cities are often perceived to have the best coverage, small towns dominate Openreach’s list of hotspots with the highest levels of fibre.

“Lundin Links, Fife, has the highest coverage in the whole of Scotland, with more than nine out of 10 properties able to upgrade to ultrafast broadband. Tranent, on the other side of the Forth, is a fraction behind and the West Lothian village of Fauldhouse is third.”

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“Ardrossan on the North Ayrshire coast, Aviemore in Highland and Findhorn in Moray all make the top 20. In Glasgow, the build has now passed 125,000 properties, while in Aberdeen engineers have reused the city’s old cable TV network from the 1980s to speed up the rollout.”

Ardrossan is in 14th position, Aviemore is in 18th place, and Findhorn is in 19th spot.

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Openreach noted it is also working with the Scottish and UK governments, through the “Reaching 100%” (R100) programme and voucher schemes, to take fibre to Scotland’s "most rural areas and hardest-to-reach properties".

It added that upgrades are ongoing from the shores of Loch Leven to island communities such as Lismore and Jura, with R100 build due to start in places such as Pitcaple in Aberdeenshire, Hillside in Angus, Ballachulish and Cromarty in Highland, and Birsay in Orkney soon.

Scottish Government Innovation Minister Richard Lochhead said: “This is an important milestone in the drive to ensure more homes and businesses across Scotland benefit from full-fibre broadband, improving vital connectivity.

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“We are working with Openreach to roll out future-proofed digital infrastructure to our rural towns and villages and this "Reaching 100%" build, alongside Openreach’s commercial network, will underpin economic growth and enhance communities across Scotland for decades to come.”

 

Openreach’s Top 20 ultrafast broadband hotspots in Scotland:

 

Location

Local Authority Area

1

Lundin Links

Fife

2

Tranent

East Lothian

3

Fauldhouse

West Lothian

4

Kelty

Fife

5

South Queensferry

City of Edinburgh

6

Anstruther

Fife

7

Corstorphine

City of Edinburgh

8

Whitburn

West Lothian

9

Halfway

City of Glasgow

10

Dalry

North Ayrshire

11

Penicuik

Midlothian

12

Peebles

Scottish Borders

13

Broxburn

West Lothian

14

Ardrossan

North Ayrshire

15

Dunbar

East Lothian

16

Kilbirnie

North Ayrshire

17

West Calder

West Lothian

18

Aviemore

Highland

19

Findhorn

Moray

20

Buckie

Moray

 

Source: Openreach: List includes publicly announced  exchanges by Openreach. It excludes very small exchanges which have been predominantly upgraded using public funding.