Inverness to Receive Broadband Rollout

CityFibre to bring FTTP broadband to Inverness as part of a £4b UK-wide investment programme.

22:23 06 May 2021

Inverness will benefit from Fibre-to-the Premises (FTTP) broadband service within the next 12 to 18 months. It is one of the first cities covered by CityFibre's UK-wide broadband deployment programme. 

 

The scheme, which is backed up by £4billion investment, has already been deployed in some areas on the eastern side of the city. CityFibre's broadband deployment in Inverness will coincide with a number of new housing developments to ensure that the newest homes are also connected. 

 

Allan McEwan, CityFibre's north of Scotland city manager, said: "We are really keen to ensure we get into new build developments,"

 

"We have had success with that in places like Aberdeen, but we need to have more engagement with developers in Inverness.

 

"It would be a shame if we rolled this out across the city and there were small pockets, whether new build or whatever, that don't have access and really, if it is a new build site, the last thing that developers want is people moving in and not having great connectivity. Ideally we want to get our ducts in the ground when they are first getting underway with groundworks on a new site, but if we have just missed that stage, there are still opportunities to get in there."

 

CityFibre will also explore ways to connect properties beyond the reach of the new cables. 

 

"It might not be feasible to build to an individual cottage if it's a few hundred metres away from our network, so there might be other options," McEwan explained.

 

"It might be that we could potentially access existing OpenReach ducts, but it's really just a case of looking at the circumstances on a case by case basis and seeing if there is any feasibility of connection and what the options are.

 

"There are technologies available. There is a smaller fibre exchange – a fibre activated cabinet (FAC) – and we can utilise those to get slightly further away from the fibre exchange.