Possilpark in Glasgow is undergoing a major broadband upgrade by Openreach, part of new plans welcomed by the Scottish Government. Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire, as well as Blantyre, Bothwell, Hamilton, and Larkhall in South Lanarkshire, are also set to benefit.
These areas join 1.2 million homes and businesses across Scotland that already have access to Openreach’s services. Robert Thorburn, Openreach’s partnership director for Scotland, praised the rollout as a significant infrastructure success, highlighting that their fibre network now reaches over 365,000 properties in the Glasgow City Region.
Thorburn emphasized the importance of switching to the new service, as upgrades are not automatic. Customers need to place an order once full fibre is available. Openreach’s network offers a wide choice of providers, including BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone, and Zen.
Openreach plans to expand to 28 more locations, covering an additional 120,000 homes and businesses. This £15 billion project aims to make gigabit-capable technology available to 25 million UK homes and businesses by the end of 2026, with 6.2 million in remote and rural areas. Currently, over 4.7 million homes and businesses have upgraded to Full Fibre, with more than 50,000 orders placed each week.
Tom Arthur, Scotland’s employment and investment minister, highlighted the importance of digital infrastructure for economic growth. He noted the Scottish Government’s record investment in broadband infrastructure and collaboration with Openreach to improve and extend the digital network, benefiting communities and businesses across the country. Arthur praised Openreach’s commitment to accelerating the rollout through Scotland’s Full Fibre Charter, which will bring significant investment and enable more homes and businesses, including those in island and rural communities, to access full-fibre connections.
