The Scottish Government’s digital ambition for Scotland is for Next Generation Broadband (NGB) to be available to all by 2020. Within East Ayrshire, the development of infrastructure to enable access to NGB is being led by either commercial operators or via the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) project.
Low cost broadband solutions for people in receipt of certain benefits
Whilst the Council cannot promote or favour any one provider nor comment on their terms and conditions, some broadband providers offer low cost broadband solutions for people in receipt of certain welfare benefits. Results from a price comparison website showed one provider that offered a landline and broadband package deal for under £10 per month, that equates to less than £2.50 per week!
To find out if you qualify or for more information, please contact your current broadband provider or search online.
Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB)
The DSSB programme was launched by the Scottish Government in July 2013 to address a lack of provision of fibre broadband in certain postcode areas where, following an Open Market Review in 2012, the rollout of NGB infrastructure was determined to be an unviable enterprise for commercial operators. It has been stated by DSSB that only 66% of homes and businesses in Scotland and 61% in East Ayrshire would have had access to fibre broadband as of March 2018 had the DSSB programme not been undertaken.
97.4% of homes and businesses in East Ayrshire were able to connect to superfast broadband (broadband with speeds over 24 Mbps) at the conclusion of the first DSSB contract in March 2018 and 95% in Scotland as a whole. Rollout has continued since that date due to the availability of additional funding for the programme and all of the deployment which DSSB has planned is expected to be completed during 2020. Those premises that have not been included in the DSSB programme will have access to a basic broadband service with a minimum speed of 2Mbps on completion of the project. A number ways to achieve a basic service with speeds of 2Mbps are set out on the DSSB website.
The Scottish Government has committed to ensuring that every part of Scotland is within reach of accessible fibre. The Reaching 100% (R100) programme will follow on from the DSSB project and is expected to bring the possibility of connecting to fibre broadband with speeds of at least 30Mbps to those remaining properties are not to be covered by the DSSB programme. The procurement process for R100 was launched in December 2017 and contracts are expected to be announced in late 2019.
Find out where and when
Regular updates on the availability of Next Generation Broadband may be provided by accessing DSSB's Interactive Map.