Arrival of ultrafast broadband in Tain brings 'a basic necessity of modern life' to town, says Sutherland MP Jamie Stone
EFFORTS to bring ultrafast broadband to an Easter Ross town have been hailed a milestone in the battle against "place-based inequality" in the Highlands.
Highland Broadband has started connecting over 2200 homes in Tain with fibre broadband through its own full-fibre, ultrafast broadband network.
The company has been building a network in the Highlands since late 2022, completing builds in Alness, Invergordon, Evanton, and most recently Tain, in a bid to provide access to gigabit connectivity to over 20,000 premises by early 2024.
"From running a business, to online education, to connecting with loved ones, a stable internet connection is a basic necessity of modern life. It was a privilege to be a part of connecting thousands of homes in my own hometown of Tain." - Jamie Stone
Highland Broadband brings fastest network available in UK to Easter Ross
Are challenges from Tain to Torridon the same as those in Highland capital?
Gavin Rogers, CEO at Highland Broadband said: “We are delighted to have completed the next phase of our network build, connecting the first premises in Tain. Ultrafast connectivity in the Highlands makes a massive difference to the communities who live here, and our network is already providing much-needed connectivity to the people and businesses in this part of Scotland.
“We are especially grateful for the support from Scottish Government, the Scottish National Investment Bank and Building Digital UK (BDUK) who have supported us in our plans to bring ultrafast connectivity to an area of Scotland where previously only 0.14 per cent of homes had access to a gigabit service.”
Easter Ross MP Jamie Stone said: "What Highland Broadband is doing shouldn't be, but really is, incredible. The Highlands is full of areas that have always experienced place-based inequality and have been totally left behind by other internet service providers, so to have this initiative is invaluable to people's quality of life.
"From running a business, to online education, to connecting with loved ones, a stable internet connection is a basic necessity of modern life. It was a privilege to be a part of connecting thousands of homes in my own hometown of Tain.
"There have been delays in the roll-out of the Scottish Government's pledge to provide superfast broadband to all premises by 2021, so it is heartening to witness Highland Broadband's commitment to connecting rural homes to full-fibre ultrafast broadband and contributing to this important initiative".
The company, whose tagline is "built for speed", says in its promotional material that fibre broadband "gives you the fastest possible upload and download speeds available in the market today". Flagging a variety of packages, it states of the Tain project: "This exciting project will bring ultrafast connectivity to your home, making Highland Broadband the first provider to bring full-fibre broadband to your community."
