The first Aberdeen houses have been connected to a new superfast broadband network as part of a £40million scheme to create Scotland’s first “gigabit city”.
CityFibre aims to bring gigabit-speed connectivity to Aberdeen as part of a partnership with Vodafone, with work now largely complete in Kincorth and Northfield.
Torry has been selected as the next area of the project due for completion in 2021.
Co-leaders of Aberdeen City Council, Douglas Lumsden and Jenny Laing, saw the construction process during a visit to Torry earlier this week.
Allan McEwan, CityFibre’s city development manager for Aberdeen, said: “Aberdeen was the first Scottish city announced as part of our national roll-out to bring full fibre broadband to five million UK homes and businesses.
“It is fantastic to see it now coming to life with the first homes now beginning to connect to the network.
“This is a major chapter in Aberdeen’s digital story and the benefits will be huge for all aspects of society – whether it’s helping businesses become more innovative and productive, helping households make better use of smart technology or increasing the ability of local professionals to work efficiently and effectively from home.”
Council co-leader Douglas Lumsden said: “The build progress is very encouraging and the project is bringing enormous benefits to households and businesses throughout the city.
“World class connectivity will be vital in supporting our economic and social ambitions and the council is pleased to be working in partnership with CityFibre and Vodafone to support a landmark project.”
Chris Carroll, city manager for Aberdeen at Vodafone said: “There has been a fantastic response from Aberdonians to the potential offered by our Gigafast service.
“Our brand ambassadors have been all over the city explaining the difference this will make to broadband within homes and we are thrilled to say that more than 5,000 households are now within reach of full fibre internet.
“In early 2019, the roll-out will rapidly accelerate which is great news for the city as people have registered their interest by the thousands. The first homes are starting to connect and, as each new area of the city ‘goes live’, we’ll be keeping local residents fully up-to-date on how they can join the full fibre revolution.”
