First connections for broadband project available on the outskirts of Biggar

The project aims to provide Scotland’s hard-to-reach addresses with access to a superfast connection.

Openreach is the delivery partner in the R100 programme and engineers have been putting the fibre infrastructure in place to carry the first connections, mainly located along the Biggarshiels Road towards Quothquan.

They also tested out some new, specialist equipment like a remote-controlled mini moleplough, used for trenching cables in tight spaces.

Work will continue in the area during February, with build in Dolphinton, Broughton and Skirling areas, as well as communities in Dumfries and Girvan, in the early part of 2021.

Robert Thorburn, Openreach Scotland partnership director, said: “It’s fantastic that the first households and businesses of the R100 South build can now connect to the fastest, most reliable broadband.

"After months of detailed planning, people in remote and rural parts of the south of Scotland will be seeing a lot more of our engineers on the ground this year.

“With the old analogue network coming to the end of its working life, residents on the outskirts of Biggar now have an early opportunity to take advantage of the latest digital services.”

Visit www.scotlandsuperfast.com to see if you can upgrade.