More areas in Orkney to receive broadband boost

Several more areas in Orkney are to benefit from the arrival of high-speed fibre broadband in the latest phase of the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme.

It has been announced that Birsay, Orphir, Sandwick, Stromness and Westray are all included in new plans which will see around 14,500 more homes and businesses throughout Scotland provided with fibre broadband.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) have said that the first of the newly announced connections will go live this autumn, with engineers from BT’s local network business, Openreach, continuing work on the ground.

The project is led through HIE and is funded by the Scottish Government, Broadband Delivery UK, HIE itself and private partners BT.

February this year saw the project reach Orkney with the first fibre broadband connections going live in Kirkwall.

For information on whether fibre broadband is available at a specific postcode visit www.digitalscotland.org/whereandwhen