Broadband speed, or the lack of it, has long been an issue for people living in the north.
With a greater number of people now working from home as a result of the pandemic, reliable fast internet is more important than ever.
The national figure shows the whole of Scotland has 94.9% superfast (fibre) coverage.
Thousands of homes and businesses across Inverness can now benefit from the fastest, most reliable internet services available in the UK. Find out more about the build here. https://t.co/n6RrJFW6eD
— CityFibre (@CityFibre) February 13, 2023
According to Highlands and Islands Enterprise, in excess of 80% of homes and businesses in more than 290 communities across the north can now access superfast broadband.
The highest speeds of all are achieved through full-fibre cabling, which goes all the way from the local exchange to end-user premises – so no old copper-based telephone lines.
CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full-fibre infrastructure provider, has completed the primary build-out of its network in Inverness.
Superfast fibre broadband available in Inverness
What superfast broadband internet service providers (ISP) are currently available in the city?
Brawband
Brawband provides full fibre to 26,912 homes across the Highland capital and hopes to reach its target of 29,708 this year.
Prices start from £27.95 per month, with speeds starting at 150 megabytes per second (Mb/s).
Other packages see speeds reach up to 900Mb/s.
Giganet
Giganet is offering three months of free broadband to cities across Scotland, including Inverness.
Prices start at £32 per month for an estimated 150Mb/s, rising to a maximum of £40 for 900Mb/s.
Brillband
Brillband offers one package at one cost. Customers pay £35 for 900Mb/s, with the first month free.
TalkTalk
TalkTalk’s most popular full-fibre 150 package costs £32 a month for 150-153Mb/s. The Fibre 900 “ultimate speed” package of 875-948Mb/s would set you back £49 monthly.
Zen
Zen provides download and upload speeds of up to 900Mb/s. Zen’s full-fibre is available in a range of packages starting from £29.99 per month, allowing a household to connect all devices – “lightning-fast, super reliably” – at the same time.
Vodafone
Vodafone packages start for as little as £21 for 41Mb/s and increase to £35 for 910Mb/s.
CityFibre targeting eight million homes throughout the UK
CityFibre has already reached more than 2.2 million UK homes.
The company plans to grow that number to eight million across 285 cities, towns and villages by the end of 2025.
The UK Government defines superfast broadband as download speeds of at least 24Mb/s, while telecoms regulator Ofcom, the Scottish Government and European Union define it as 30Mb/s.
Second Scottish city for UK roll-out
Inverness is the fifth location in the UK and only the second in Scotland to reach the primary build completion stage in CityFibre’s expansion.
Construction started on the £24.5 million project in the Highland capital in 2019.
CityFibre has since laid more than 245 miles of full-fibre infrastructure across the city.
While the primary build is complete, CityFibre aims to expand its network to other places – such as property on private or unadopted roads, new-builds and business parks.
In other news, Virgin Media filmed an advertising campaign for their broadband in the Highlands – where locals can’t get coverage. Read the full story.
Conversation