Digital Engagement Team to Help North East get Better Broadband

A new Digital Engagement Team will ensure North-East residents have access to Superfast Broadband by the end of March 2022.

14:09 03 February 2022

A new Digital Engagement Team has been created to help ensure that all North-East residents, businesses and communities have access to superfast broadband by the end of March 2022. 

 

The team is funded by the Aberdeen City Region Deal and is tasked to provide guidance, support and advice on how to utilise various programmes to obtain speeds of around 30Mbps. The team of three will be working closely with local and national telecoms operators and is expected to explore all options for every location, including satellite or mobile broadband, full-fibre broadband and fixed wireless broadband. 

 

Cllr Peter Argyle, chair of the council’s Infrastructure Services Committee, said: “In this digital age it is essential that our residents and businesses have access to superfast broadband and our Engagement Team will do their utmost to support communities identify the solutions which are best for them. We have nearly 16,000 properties awaiting full-fibre broadband installation by 2027, therefore there is a clear need to get interim packages installed using the vouchers which must be used by the end of March. I would encourage anyone who is in this position to contact our team as a matter of urgency.”

 

Vice-chair Cllr John Cox added: “This small but very dedicated team of officers will be operating as a signposting and advice service for North-East communities and informing and educating residents and businesses about their options. They will help identify bespoke broadband services and will look closely at how properties can be clustered to allow vouchers to be used jointly to give operators and suppliers more incentive to deliver larger or more impactful broadband solution installations.”