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Scots Rural Fibre Firm Secures £20M to Boost Targeted Rollout
Lothian Broadband Networks (LBN), the fibre firm helping to bridge the digital divide in rural Scotland, has received a further £20 million in funding from the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) to help with the targeted rollout of ultrafast broadband to rural premises and communities.
LBN targets investment in Scottish rural settlements and small towns that would otherwise be unlikely to get access to a gigabit-capable network. The company is currently building networks in the Highlands, Fife, and East Lothian — areas in notable need of fast and reliable broadband coverage. The company also has plans to extend the service into other areas of Scotland in the near-future.
The latest funding is set to support the company with the expansion of its network — which is said to be on target to pass 100,000 rural Scottish premises by the end of 2024. Over £20M was first awarded to LBN by SNIB in 2021 to aid with tackling rural Scotland’s digital inequality.
To deliver fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP), LBN is deploying XGS-PON technology that is billed to offer rural residents symmetrical upload and download connection speeds of up to 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps).
“This new funding from the Bank takes our overall investment capacity for the year ahead up to £50m,” said Gavin Rodgers, CEO of Lothian Broadband Networks, on the news of the funding.
“This further support from the Bank highlights our effectiveness at working with our partners in government and local communities to transform connectivity in rural Scotland.”
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Scottish National Bank’s Executive Director, Nicola Douglas, also commented, saying: “Ultrafast broadband has a transforming impact, boosting economic growth, reducing inequalities, and helping education.
“Our investment in LBN is already making a difference for both rural businesses and homes and by supporting this state-of-the-art fibre roll out we are future
proofing the network.”
Digital exclusion and inequality, according to research referenced by the Scottish Government’s Connecting Scotland programme, has numerous profound implications for rural residents, not least when it comes to finances and career opportunities.
Relatedly, just two months ago, DIGIT reported on the news that by 2024, it’ll be possible to access broadband speeds of 100 Megabytes per second (Mbps) on the moon — meaning it’ll receive better speeds than half of all UK properties.
