Up to 2,000 homes and businesses will be next to benefit from the arrival of high-speed fibre broadband – in the latest phase of the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme.

The project is reaching into more local areas, with Dumbarton getting additional coverage. The first connections in the latest locations are expected to start to go live this Autumn.

Sara Budge, programme director for Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband, said: “It is great to be celebrating the first year of deployment of the £410m Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme, while announcing that more exchanges will be included, with areas in West Dunbartonshire such as Alexandria getting additional extra coverage thanks to the programme.

“The project is developing a high speed fibre network which is changing the face of broadband. By reaching out to those who would not have been covered through the commercial market – in towns and into some of our most rural areas – we are ensuring that the connections which are made will bring many benefits to the Scottish people at home and in business.” Some of the latest homes and businesses will be served after additional engineering work on so-called ‘exchange only’ lines which run directly from the exchange to the households and businesses – bypassing the usual road-side cabinets which are integral to the fibre rollout.

Engineers will rearrange the existing network and lay hundreds of metres of cable to reroute these lines through new road-side cabinets.

Fibre broadband enables multiple users in a home or business to access the internet, download and share large files at the same time at download speeds of up to 80 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 20 Mbps.

Jackie Baillie, Dumbarton and the Vale’s MSP, told the Reporter: “I am glad that more households and local businesses in Dumbarton and the Vale will finally be able enjoy the huge benefits of high-speed broadband. We are increasingly dependent on good broadband connectivity for every area of our lives – whether it’s for entertainment, pupils doing research for school projects or communicating with friends and family.

“High-speed broadband is also vital for businesses who want to expand and create more jobs for local people.

“The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband initiative is a great example of governments in Edinburgh, London and Brussels coming together to work with local councils to deliver real benefits for local families but we need to see further investment to extend coverage to every home and business in West Dunbartonshire as soon as possible.” As the higher speeds become available, anyone interested in signing up for fibre-based services should contact their broadband service provider.

Further information is also available on Twitter @ScotSuperfast or Facebook at www.facebook.com/scotlandsuperfast